Always and Forever: The SeQuel: Growing Pains
by Sunkissed Gurl
Summary: Follow Charlotte and Cooper as their kids grow up. It's gonna be a wild and bumpy ride for the CharCoop kids & friends as they navigate the way through their teen years. This is the SeQuel to my last story Always and Forever
1. Chapter 1

**_Four Years after the epilogue of Always and Forever:_**

**_ALWAYS And FOREVER~~~THE SEQUEL_**

_A/N~~This sequel begins at Andie's sixteenth birthday party. Andie's grown into an attractice teen with long red-blonde hair along with her father, Cooper Freedmans, bright blue eyes. Her brother, Chase, who's almost fifteen is a carbon copy of his father, Cooper_. _Noah is now almost thirteen and looks just like his momma and four year old brother, Drew. Both boys have Charlotte's eyes and blonde hair, along with her spunk._

_Addison's daughter, Danielle, who's one year older than Andie has grown into a pretty brunette and Andie's best friend and confidant._

_Violet and Pete are the proud parents of nineteen year old Lucas and twelve year old Lila (looks like Violet.)_

_Sheldon and Amelia are raising, Dylan, Amelia's twelve year old son with Cole, along with their own adorable four year old daughter, Sara (looks like Amelia.)_

_Jolie and Cole have Tyler who's now eighteen, along with twelve year old twins, Cole jr and Marley._

_Marisa's also invited to the party, along with her twenty seven year old daughter, Alexis, and twelve year old Julia._

* * *

><p><strong><em>We begin:<em>**

**_The Sequel - Always and Forever_**

The large Italian restaurant overlooking the water is bursting with life tonight. Over one hundred party guests fill the catering room to celebrate Andie's sixteenth birthday. Pink and Purple balloons adorn the ceiling. Cooper brings Charlotte a martini. "Thanks. I needed this." Charlotte takes the drink from his hand.

Sheldon watches the group of teenagers on the dance floor. "Who taught Lucas to dance like that?"

"Me." Pete smiles. "He gets his moves from me."

Violet nudges Pete on the arm. "You wish."

"Hey!" Pete laughs and sips his beer "That's my boy, the ladies man." Pete watches Lucas dance with Danielle, Andie , Tyler, Chase and a group of other teens.

A little girl with long black hair runs up to Sheldon. "Daddy, guess what Dylan is doing?"

Sheldon looks down at his four year old daughter, Sara. "Do I want to know?"

"It's something bad. Daddy." Sara tells him.

Amelia scolds her daughter gently. "Sara, what did I tell you about being a tattle tale?"

"Tell _me_! Tell _me_!" A little four year old blonde boy bounces up and down.

Sara whispers something into four year old Drew's ear. "I want to watch them spit!" Drew yells out.

"Exactly, who do you want to watch spit?" Charlotte asks her four year old son, Drew.

"I wanna watch Noah and his friends have a spit race!" Drew jumps up and down all excited. "You wanna come and watch too, momma?"

"Oh, I wanna see this." Charlotte deadpans. "Where exactly is this spit race going on?" Charlotte asks four year old, Sara.

"In the lobby." Sara's points outside of the party room. "Lila, Marley and, Dylan, are spit racing with Noah."

Violet smirks at Pete. "Did you teach your daughter to spit too?"

Charlotte, Pete and Sheldon follow four year old Sara and Drew into the lobby.

"Look, momma. There's the spitting contest!" Drew runs ahead to watch his brother and his friends.

"I'm coming, Squirt." Charlotte's heels click loud against the floor heading towards the group of twelve year olds. Sheldon and Pete follow her.

"I won!" Twelve year old Lila does a victory dance.

"No, you didn't!" Marley shouts. "Noah clearly won that round!"

"What are you children doing?" Sheldon is the first to ask.

"Watch me, Dr. Wallace." Lila fills her mouth up with soda and shoots it as far as she can across the lobby.

"That's not a good idea, Lila." Pete tells his daughter, with the long curly brown hair.

"It's fun, dad" Lila tells Pete.

"It's disgustin'." Charlotte scowls. "Not to mention, I left a deposit on this place, which the management will keep to clean the floor, if they find out about this spit contest."

"Sorry, Momma" Noah tells her. "I didn't know you would have to pay money for it. I'm sorry."

"Watch this, momma!" Drew calls out before filling his mouth with soda and spitting it as far across the lobby as he can.

"No, Squirt." Charlotte tells little Drew. "We don't spit."

"But it's fun!" The four year old jumps up and down laughing. "Try it, momma!"

"Come here you jumpin' bean." Charlotte scoops him up into her arms. Charlotte looks over at thirteen year old Noah. "You see what you did, Noah. You're s'posed to be teaching your little brother to do right."

"Yes, ma'am." Noah answers.

"You and your friends are gonna clean this mess up." Charlotte tells Noah before carrying Chase into the party room.

"You're lucky you're the youngest kid in your family." Noah tells Lila.

"Why?" Lila asks.

"My little brother's a terror. Drew does whatever he wants and I always end up getting in trouble for it. You see how my momma blamed me cuz Drew spit after she said not to?"

Lila laughs. "Let's clean this up fast so we can go outside and finish the spitting contest."

The group cleans up the soda before going outside for more spitting games.

Meanwhile in the party room, Cooper, Violet and Amelia watch the older teens dance. "My days of being able to move like that are over." Violet says.

"Are you kidding? Cooper smirks. "_I_ can still move like that."

"Let's see." Amelia challenges him.

"You're on." Cooper smiles. "But outside, Andie will kill me if I embarrass her in front of her friends."

"Oh, this is going to be fun." Violet gets up and follows Cooper and Amelia outside. Cooper holds his drink in his hand and starts moving to the music ,which can be still be heard outside. Violet and Amelia laugh at him. "Let's see you do better!" Cooper challenges them. Violet and Amelia start shaking their hips to the music.

Andie walks outside the restaurant to meet Nicky, who's waiting on a bench outside the front doors. Nicky's grown into a tall, muscular nineteen year old with bright blue eyes and straight dark hair that hangs down to his shoulders. He works as a construction worker during the day and plays in a band at night.

"You came?" Andie smiles.

"I got you this for your birthday." Nicky hands her a little box wrapped in yellow paper with a pink ribbon.

"What is it?" Andie asks.

"Open it."

Andie sit's next to him on the bench and rips open the wrapping paper. She pulls out a charm bracelet with a Beauty and The Beast charm on it."

"It's looks like the charm bracelet I lost on the bus in first grade, except it didn't have a Beauty and the Beast charm on it."

"I got you that charm since I used to call you Belle when we were kids."

"Thank you." Andie smiles. "I love it."

"I remember you cried that day on the bus after you lost your charm braclet. I told you I would buy you a new one." Nicky looks at her. "I have a real job now so I could afford to buy it for you."

"That's so sweet. I can't believe you remembered that."

Nicky smiles and looks up.

"Isn't that your father?" Nicky points towards three adults dancing on the grass about fifty feet in front of them.

"Oh my God, it is." Andie answers.

"Are they drunk?"

"You don't know my father." Andie rolls her eyes. "He can be such a big kid sometimes. My momma says he's her fifth child."

"Ha!" Nicky laughs.

"They can't see us over here, can they?" Andie asks him. "I'm not supposed to be hanging out with you."

"Nah, the tree's blocking us, besides," Nicky tells her, "just because our parents hate each other doesn't mean we can't hang."

"I know." Andie tells him.

"We're not little kids anymore. We shouldn't have to sneak to be friends." Nicky tells her.

"It's better this way." Andie pulls a strand of her long red hair behind her ear. "I don't want any problems with my father."

"Thanks for telling me about your party."

"I figured there's so many people here my parents wouldn't notice you."

"I better get going." Nicky gets up.

"Wait a minute." Andie pulls him back down on the bench. "When can I see you again?" Andie asks Nicky.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Do you want to go with me to see that new movie Selena Gomez is starring in?" Andie asks.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"If you call going to a movie a date, then yeah, I guess." Andie swallows, nervously waiting for an answer.

"Then, okay. It's a date. I'll pick you up at the end of the street next Friday night. Around seven?"

"What about tomorrow night?" Andie asks, hopeful.

"Sorry, Belle, but I have to work tomorrow night. The band's playing at Geogio's."

"Okay, so, it's a date next Friday night." Andie smiles.

"It's a date." Nicky salutes her with his hand as he walks to his car in the parking lot.

Andie turns to go back in the restaurant and is startled to find someone standing right behind her. "Alexis? What are you doing here?"

"Having a cigarette." Alexis takes a puff. "You better be careful." Alexis warns Andie.

Andie flips her long red hair back. "Why?"

"Dating an older guy, you know?"

"Nicky's nineteen and I'm sixteen. It's only three years."

"Nineteen year old guys expect more on a date, if you know what I mean."

"You don't know Nicky." Andie defends.

"I'm twenty seven, Andie. I know what nineteen year old guys want, been there, done that"

"Please don't say anything to my parents, Alexis, please?"

Alexis puffs on her cigarette. "I won't say anything to your parents but you better know what you're doing, kid."

"I do." Andie walks back into the party.

"How'd it go?" Danielle runs up to her and asks.

"It went great! I'm going to the movies with him next Friday night."

"Did he ask you out?" Danielle asks.

"Not exactly. I asked him out." Andie tells her, Danielle laughs.

"I need to ask you something, Danielle."

"What?" The two girls walk to the bathroom together.

"Have you banged it with Lucas yet?" Andie asks her best friend.

Danielle applies her lipstick. "No, but not because I don't want to. Lucas wants to wait until my prom."

"Oh." Andie nods.

"You're not thinking about banging with Nicky on your first date, are you?" Danielle asks.

"I don't want to." Andie tells her. "But, I saw Alexis outside and she said that's what nineteen year old guys expect on a date."

"Nicky knows you're only sixteen. I don't think he expects it. And if he does, tell him you're not ready yet."

"Maybe, I am ready." Andie smacks her lips together.

"Tyler really likes you." Danielle tells her.

"I know."

"Don't you like Tyler?" Danielle asks.

"He's nice, but that's the problem. He's like too nice."

"So, you like bad boys?"

"Nicky's not a bad boy. He's just older and more intriguing I guess." Andie explains. "Tyler's more like my brother."

Addison walks in the bathroom. "Here you girls are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry, mom." Danielle tells Addison. "We were reapplying our make up."

"Well, come back out to the party. You're the birthday girl after all, Andie. We can't have a party without the birthday girl and her best friend." Addison leads the girls back into the party room.

"Where'd you find them?" Charlotte asks Addison.

"In the powder room, where else?"

"Sit down Andie. Daddy and I have a surprise for you." Andie sits down. A picture of her as a newborn baby shows up on a large screen accompanied by the song 'Here comes the sun.'

"You were so cute." Danielle tells Andie. "Look at all your red hair." Next a picture of Andie at her first birthday party appears. "There's my mom holding me in the background." Danielle points. "Wasn't I cute?"

"There's you, Chase!" Lila points out a photo displayed of Andie sitting next to Chase soon after he was born.

Andie's eyes start to tear. "That must be me on my first pony ride."

"It was your first pony ride at your second birthday party." Charlotte puts her hand on Andie's shoulder.

"Look! There's us playing with Freggly." Chase points out and Andie smiles.

"There's one of me and you when we were about three and four years old, at the park." Danielle laughs. "We were adorable. Look at my long French braids."

"And my little page boy haircut." Andie smiles.

"That's you on your first day of kindergarten, Sweet Pea." Charlotte tells Andie. "You were so excited to ride the bus." Andie smiles when she notices Nicky in the background of the picture. "Isn't that Nicky?" Danielle asks.

"Yep." Andie smiles.

"He was a cutie." Danielle smirks.

"He still is." Andie tells her.

"Look! There's you and Tyler dancing at Jolie and Cole's wedding."

"Where's me?" Four year old Drew shouts out. "I don't see me!"

"That was before your time, Squirt" Charlotte picks her four year old son up and holds him on her lap.

"There's me." Noah points to a picture of Andie, Chase and Noah sitting on Santa Clause's lap. "_I_ was the baby of the family back then. Good times." He whispers to Lila.

They continue to watch the display of photo's of Andie's life leading up to her sixteenth birthday. When it ends the DJ plays the song Butterfly Kisses. "May I have this dance?" Cooper holds his hand out to his daughter. Andie gets up and follows Cooper to the dance floor.

Sam asks Danielle to dance while Pete dances with Lila. Cole dances with Marley while Sheldon dances with four year old Sara.

Charlotte holds Drew on her lap and watches. Tears leak down her face as she watches Cooper and Andie dance to Butterfly kisses. Violet starts to shed tears and soon Addison is teary eyed watching Sam and Danielle dance. Addison wipes a tear from her face. "They grow up too damn fast."

Amelia looks over at them. "Don't tell me you're all crying?"

"You wouldn't know." Charlotte tells her. "Sara's four, you and Sheldon still have a lot of time left with her."

Chase pats his momma on the back, " Don't cry, momma."

"K, I'll stop." Charlotte sniffles and wipes her tears away.

Fifteen year old Chase sighs. "This is depressing, momma. Can I ask the DJ to play something else?"

"As soon as this song is over you kids can go back to your music." Charlotte tells him.

"Good." Violet sniffles, "I could use some cheering up."

"Geez mom, it's not like someone died." Lucas tells Violet.

"We miss our babies." Violet tells him.

Cooper tries to hold back the tears while he dances with Andie. "Are you crying, daddy?"

Cooper wipes his nose. "No."

"Daddy?"

"What?"

"Don't ever stop calling me your Andie Candy, no matter how old I am."

"Got it," Cooper smiles. "Andie Candy."

The song ends and the teens all bounce back on the dance floor. Cooper walks over to Charlotte. "When do we get to dance?"

"About that, I was thinking you and I could go away this weekend, just the two of us."

"I like that idea." Cooper presses his lips into Charlotte's

"Eww!" Four year old Drew yells at them. "Don't do that!"

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "This weekend. Just me and you."

"I can't wait." He smiles at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER 2 - CAUGHT!_**

* * *

><p>It's Friday night, Andie waits at the end of the street for Nicky to pick her up. She tries to act calm and cool even though she's nervous as she watches him pull up in his black sports car. "Nice wheels." She tells him as she gets in the passenger seat. Nicky admires Andie's little black dress. She has her hair down and it looks like she curled it. "You look pretty." Nicky tells her.<p>

"Thank you. You look good." She checks out Nicky who has an olive skin tone and straight black hair that falls to his shoulders. He's clean shaven and has full lips like hers. She licks her lips while checking out his kissable lips. He's thin but his arms are muscular from working out. He dreams of being a rock star one day. "I like that you're letting your hair grow." Andie tells him.

"Yeah" He answers. "It's a good look for the band. So, where did you tell your parents you were going tonight?"

"I told them I was going out with my friends Danielle, Tyler and Lucas. I know Danielle would cover for me."

"I hate having to lie" Nicky tells her.

"My parents would be pissed." Andie tells him. "And, I'm pretty sure your mother hates my father more than he hates her."

"That's because you father started that investigation into my family when he called DCSF."

"Is that why your parents ended up getting divorced?" Andie asks.

"It started the ball rolling. All they did was fight after that because my mom told your dad he hit her and your dad told the social worker."

"No wonder your mother hates my father."

Nicky shrugs. "I'm glad my dad left before he started hitting my little sister. She was young when he left but eventually she would have gotten it too."

"So, did your dad hit you? Was my dad right to call the social worker?" Andie asks.

"My dad has a very stressful job. He was under a lot of pressure at work."

"You didn't answer my question. Did your dad beat you? Was my dad right to call the social worker?"

"Can we talk about something else instead of my dad?" Nicky asks.

"We can talk about my dad and how he'll kill me if he finds out I'm dating you and not just because you're Bruce and Leslie's kid."

"What else is there for him to care about?"

"Because you're nineteen and I'm sixteen. I don't think my dad would approve."

Nicky shrugs. "It's only three years, my parents are six years apart."

"Mine are five years apart." Andie tells him.

"So, then what's the problem?" Nicky asks.

"Maybe I'm making it bigger than it is, maybe he won't care about it."

"Good." Nicky answers. "I figured we could get something to eat before the movie. My treat."

"K." Andie smooths down the bottom of her dress.

"Is Mexican okay?" Nicky asks.

"Mexican's good."

Nicky tells Andie. "I have to be home early tonight." He eats his burrito.

"Why?" Andie asks. "Is your car going to turn into a pumpkin?"

"Ha, ha, you're so funny." Nicky teases sarcastically. "My grandma's in town, my mother wants me to spend time with her."

"I didn't think you had any family?" Andie bites into her taco.

"My mom found her biological mother."

"What's she like?" Andie asks.

"She's nice. Her name is Susan and she has red hair."

"My dad's birth mother had red hair too," Andie tells Nicky. "That's where I get it."

"Must be a red-haired birth mother thing." Nicky jokes. "Maybe red-heads are more likely to get pregnant young."

"Hey, don't say that. I'm a young red-head."

"I'm just having fun with ya." Nicky laughs.

"So, you like your grandma?" Andie asks

"She's cool. She told me my mother had a twin brother that was adopted at the same time."

"Cool." Andie says. "Did your mother find him too?"

"Nope," Nicky shakes his head. "She said she doesn't want to. I don't know why."

"My father never sought out his birth family." Andie tells Nicky. "He feels like it would be betraying my grandparents who raised him."

"My mother doesn't speak to the family that raised her so she needed to find her birth mother, besides me and Suzie, that's the only family she has."

"Whatever happened to your dad?"

"He moved to San Diego. Now, he's all about his job. I hardly see him anymore."

"That stinks for you."

"Nah, not really." Nicky sips his beer. "I'm glad he's gone."

"It's really sad that you don't have a relationship with your dad." Andie sips her soda.

"He sends us money. " Nicky shrugs. "I'm good with that. Let's not talk about him anymore. Do you want a sip of my beer?"

"Sure." Andie takes a sip. "That's good stuff." Andie wipes her mouth with her hand.

"You're lying." Nicky laughs. "I could tell by the look on your face, you didn't like it."

"You could?" Andie's embarrassed.

"Yes, I could." Nicky laughs. "Are you ready to see the movie?"

"Yep!" Andie gets up and pulls down on her little black dress.

* * *

><p>Cooper looks out the bedroom window. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Charlotte asks as she packs her bag for their overnight trip out of town.<p>

"Who's that older red headed woman next door at Leslie's house?"

"Who cares?" Charlotte scrunches up her face. "Why are you spying on the neighbors?"

"I never saw her around before."

"If you're so curious why don't you just ask the kids? I'm sure they know."

"How would they know?" Cooper asks.

"You really think our kids don't talk to those kids at school?"

"Noah!" Cooper calls down the stairs.

"What dad?" Thirteen year old, Noah asks.

"Come up here a minute!"

Noah runs up the stairs. Cooper tells him, "I'll give you ten bucks if you could tell me who that older lady is sitting on the neighbor's porch with Suzie."

Noah looks out the window. "That's Suzie's grandma."

"I thought they didn't talk to their family?" Charlotte asks Noah.

"It's her mom's birth mother. She hired some guy to find her and it worked out. She's really nice."

"You met her?" Charlotte asks.

"Uh…Bye.." Noah takes the ten dollar bill and runs back downstairs.

Chase walks by his parents bedroom. "Can I have some money? I'm going to Game Stop with Tyler and Lucas tonight."

"I thought Andie was at the movies with Tyler and Lucas tonight?" Charlotte asks.

"No." Chase thinks fast. "Andie was just going to the movies with Danielle. They decided to see some chick flick, so the guys are going to hang out at Game Stop."

"How much do you need?" Cooper takes out his wallet.

"How much are you willing to give me?" Chase smiles.

"Here's fifty but you're staying home with Andie to watch Noah and Drew tomorrow when your mother and I are away."

"I thought Alexis was coming over to watch them?"

"She is." Charlotte says. "But we still want you and Andie to stay in tomorrow night and help her while we're not home. Drew can be a handful."

"Fine. I'll have my fun tonight." Chase counts the money and walks down the hall.

* * *

><p>After the movie, Nicky pulls up in front of Andie's house. "You can't drop me off here, my parents might see."<p>

"Okay, I'll drop you off at my house and I'll watch you walk home. I don't want you walking down the street in that sexy black dress all alone."

Andie blushes. They park in Nicky's driveway. "Thank you for dinner and the movie." Andie leans in to kiss Nicky. "What are you doing?" Nicky asks.

"I'm thanking you." Andie presses her lips into his.

"I like your thank you's." He returns the kiss.

Andie moves her hand down Nicky's back, they both jump when they hear a knock on the cars' window. "Grandma?" Nicky opens his window. "What are you doing?"

"Who's your little friend?" The older woman asks.

"This is Andie." Nicky tells her. Andie smiles and waves.

"She looks a little young for you."

"I'm sixteen." Andie tells the woman.

"Nicky's nineteen." The woman tells her.

"I know that." Andie smiles.

"Do your parents know you're kissing Nicky?"

Andie gets out of the car. "I better go now. I'll text you later."

Andie walks in the front door of her house. Cooper and Charlotte are watching TV on the couch. They notice Andie come in wearing the short clingy black dress and heels.

"Where'd you get that outfit?" Cooper asks. "It looks like something a...-" Charlotte punches his arm before he can finish. "Oww." He holds his arm and looks at Charlotte before turning back to Andie. "How was the movie?" Cooper asks.

"It was okay." Andie answers. "Lucas and Tyler liked it better than Danielle and I did."

"Lucas and Tyler are at Game Stop with Chase." Charlotte shoots.

"Uh..." Andie looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

"If I call Addison, is she going to tell me Danielle was home with her tonight?"

"Uh…"

"Where were you, Andie?" Cooper asks.

Andie doesn't answer.

"Tell us where you were and who you were with or you're grounded for the rest your life!" Charlotte threatens Andie.

"Okay, I went to the movies with Nicky." Andie confesses

"Nicky from next door?" Cooper asks.

"Yes."

"Why?" Cooper scrunches up his nose.

"Because he's nice and I like him."

"He's three years older than you."

"So? You're five years older than momma."

"You're still in high school. You're only sixteen."

"I'm going upstairs." Andie marches up the stairs.

"We're not done, young lady!" Cooper shouts after her.

"_I'll _talk to her, Coop. You wait here." Charlotte follows Andie up the steps and into her room. "Are you having sex?" Charlotte deadpans.

"No!" Andie turns on her heel and faces Charlotte. "This was the first time I went out with him."

"Are you going out with him again?"

"I want to."

Charlotte sits on Andie's bed. "Look, I don't approve of you having sex at sixteen, I would prefer if you practiced some self control and waited a little longer but this isn't about me. It's about you and if you decide to have sex now you need to use birth control. I can write you a prescription for the pill but even on the pill, you still have to use condoms no matter what, to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases."

"I know that already, momma."

"I know we had this talk when you were younger but now it's real, Andie. If you're going to have sex, you absolutely have to use a condom."

"I'm not having sex yet, momma."

"Well, when you do, don't let any boy talk you out of using a condom because they say it's better to go without."

"Okay, momma! Are we done yet?"

"This is what I do for a living, Andie. I treat women all the time who have painful warts and diseases they contract from unprotected sex."

"Ewww" Andie scowls.

"All of the women regret it. They were talked into not using a condom by some guy they thought loved them."

"I told you I'm not having sex yet, momma!"

"Not yet, but one day you will and I want you to be aware of all the consequences, not just pregnancy."

"I'm aware, momma."

"Then there's AIDS," Charlotte tells her daughter. "There's all kinds of drugs out now to help AIDS patients live longer but there's no cure. It'll still kill you."

Andie nods her head. "Yes, ma'am, I understand."

"Good, because, I want you to hear my voice telling you to use a condom when you're in the heat of the moment. Don't forget it!" Charlotte's firm.

"Yes, momma."

Charlotte cups Andie's face in her hands. "Do you promise me?"

"I promise, momma."

Charlotte gives Andie a kiss goodnight. She bumps into Cooper as she walks out of Andie's room. "How much did you hear?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Enough. I don't want her having sex yet, Charlotte."

"She says she's not, but she needs to be prepared, I gave her a good talkin' to, just in case."

Cooper rubs his hands over his head. "Life was so much easier when they were babies."

"We can't stop 'em from growin' up."

"It's going too fast." Cooper sulks.

"Come on." Charlotte leads Cooper to their bedroom. "Let's pretend like I'm a naughty school girl and you're my older boyfriend."

"Oooh...You naughty momma." Cooper follows Charlotte into the bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**_CH_****_APTER 3 PARTY-TIME_**

* * *

><p>Andie, Chase and Noah, ring the doorbell to Violet and Pete's house. Lucas answers. Chase high fives him. "You're lucky, Lucas. Last weekend when our parents went away we had to stay home but when your parents go away, they let you have a party!"<p>

"Your parents are cool!" Noah walks in the door and plops on the couch ready to play a video game.

"Hey Noah, do you want to play Wii sing with me and Marley?" Lila asks.

"I don't like to sing." Noah looks around for Cole or Dylan to hang out with.

Lucas takes Andie and Chase into the kitchen where they find Danielle and Tyler. "Whatcha' doin?" Andie asks.

"Mixing up some drinks. Keep the little one's out of the kitchen. They have big mouths." Danielle tells her, referring to the group of twelve-year-old younger siblings.

"Where'd you get the alcohol?" Andie asks.

"I took a bottle of rum from my mother's liquor cabinet. She won't notice and I bought the pina colada mix at the store." Danielle follows the directions and mixes up the drinks. They all try it. "Not bad." Lucas tells Danielle.

"This stuff is pretty darn good." Andie says.

Noah and Cole Jr. walk in the kitchen for something to eat. "What are you guys drinking?" Noah asks.

"Can we have some?" Cole Jr asks.

"No!" Andie snaps.

"Why not?" Noah asks.

"Because you guys are too young for this stuff. Now beat it!" Chase tells them.

"Are you drinking alcohol? Noah asks.

"Tell anyone and you're dead kid." Danielle glares at them.

"I'm outta here!" Noah says. "Me too." Cole follows behind him.

"Babies!" Andie calls after them.

They finish the bottle of rum and the group heads out to the living room. "Lucas and I are going to go upstairs for a little while." Danielle tells Andie.

"Have fun." Andie pulls her phone out to text Nicky. She gives him directions to Violet and Pete's house.

"What do you think Danielle and Lucas are doing up there?" Tyler asks Andie.

Andie laughs. "If you don't know that by now, I'm not tellin' it to ya'."

"Oh." Tyler nods. "So, what do you want to do?"

"The tweenies are hogging the video games, there ain't much else to do." Andie sits at the table talking to Tyler for about fifteen minutes until the doorbell rings. "I'll get it." She lets Nicky in.

"What's he doing here?" Chase asks, looking at Nicky.

"I invited him." Andie tells her brother.

"Ooooh!" Noah points out. "Nicky has a case of beer with him."

"I didn't want to come empty handed." Nicky tells them.

"C'mon in the kitchen." Andie leads Nicky. "You little kids stay here." Andie instructs Noah and his friends.

"Twelve isn't that little!" Cole Jr. shouts out to Andie.

"It is around here!" Andie shouts back.

Lila runs up the stairs and knocks on Lucas's bedroom door. "Lucas!"

"Go away, Lila, I'm busy."

"Andie just let some strange dude in the house with beer!"

"I'll be right down." Lucas sighs and yells to his twelve year old sister.

"You better or else I'm calling mom and dad!"

"I'm coming now, Lila." Three minutes later Lucas and Danielle come out of the bedroom. Lila folds her arms "What were you doing in there?"

"None of your business." Lucas tells his sister.

"I'm telling mom."

"Here's ten bucks, keep your mouth shut." Lucas pulls a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and hands it to Lila.

The three of them walk downstairs. Lucas and Danielle go into the kitchen while Lila goes back to playing video games with the tweens.

Andie introduces them. "Lucas, this is my neighbor, Nicky."

"I know Nicky Poulos." Lucas tells her. "We graduated high school together. How's it going, dude?" Lucas asks Nicky.

"It's going... Catch!" Nicky tosses Lucas a bottle of beer. Lucas catches it.

Lucas opens his beer. "I hear your band is playing at Giorgio's by the water."

"Yep." Nicky sips his beer and nods.

"That's awesome." Lucas tells him.

"We're trying... it's a start." Nicky sips more beer.

Danielle sits next to Andie and grabs a beer off the table.

"So, are you a woman yet?" Andie quietly asks Danielle so nobody else can hear,

"Not quite. Lila was banging on the door because you let Nicky in." Danielle whispers back.

"Sorry" Andie grimaces. "How far did you get?"

"We got down to our underwear and then she started banging on the door."

"Was it hot?" Andie asks.

"Sizzling."

"Try again later when Lila goes to sleep." Andie suggests.

"I'm going outside for a smoke. Does anyone want to come?" Nicky asks.

"None of us smoke." Lucas tells him.

"I'll go with you." Andie follows Nicky out the door.

"What's Andie doing?" Chase asks. "She doesn't smoke."

"She just wants to hang with Nicky." Danielle tries to open a beer bottle.

"You want one?" Nicky offers Andie a cigarette.

"I'll just try yours." Andie takes a puff and starts coughing.

Nicky laughs. "Here, I'll show you how to do it." Nicky takes a puff and Andie watches. She tries again and coughs again. She hands him back the cigarette, "I'm not good at this." Nicky chuckles and takes another puff. "You look pretty in the moonlight."

"Thank you" Andie smiles.

"Nicky puffs on his cigarette and looks at her lips. "You've got real sexy lips, they remind me of that actress, Angelina Jolie."

"Thank you." Andie smiles and tells him. "So do you."

Nicky puffs his cigarette. "What?"

"You have sexy lips. I like 'em." Andie licks her bottom lip with her tongue, not realizing she's doing it.

Nicky moves a step closer, his eyes still gazing on her lips. Andie knows he's going to kiss her. She sucks in a breath and swallows. The next thing she know is that his lips are on hers, she puckers her lips against his. He licks her lips causing her to reflexively open them. His tongue is in her mouth in a flash. The tip of his tongue finds hers and it feels good. He pulls back from the kiss briefly to smile at her. His lips are back on hers in three seconds. She feels him slip his hand under her shirt. His hand slowly moves up her abdomen and up over her bra. She immediately breaks the kiss and backs away.

"What's wrong?" Nicky asks.

"Nothing." Andie shrugs. "I just wasn't planning on…-"

Nicky interrupts. "Sorry if I was moving too fast" Nicky apologizes. "I just really like you."

Andie shrugs. "It's okay. I like you too."

"You want to try that again, then?" Nicky winks at her. Andie's heart throbs. She's a sucker for a good looking guy who can wink.

"I just want to kiss you tonight." Andie leans into him again.

"Just kiss?" He asks before she puts her lips on his.

"Well, maybe a little more." Andie attempts to wink at him but it doesn't come out right.

Nicky laughs. "Got it, Belle," he says before he kisses her again.

The doorbell rings again, Lila answers it. Addison and Sam step in the house. "Where's Danielle?" Addison asks.

"She's in the kitchen." Lila points.

Addison and Sam walk past the tweens playing video games before they enter the kitchen and catch Danielle, Lucas, Tyler and Chase drinking beer.

Sam points out the empty bottle of rum on the table to Addison. "Didn't I tell you we would find the missing bottle of rum if we came here."

"That's where my bottle of rum went. I bought that for Sam and I." Addison stares at the empty bottle on the table, then she looks around the room. "I'm calling all of your parents," she tells them all.

"I'm nineteen, I'm in college." Lucas reminds Addison.

Sam answers. "Young man, the drinking age is twenty-one, not to mention you're serving alcohol to minors. Danielle is seventeen and Chase is only fifteen."

"I'm sorry." Lucas tells Sam, "but I didn't provide any alcohol to anyone. Danielle brought the bottle of rum and Nicky brought the beer."

"Who's Nicky?" Sam asks.

"Andie's friend, she's out back with him now."

Sam opens the back door to find Andie and Nicky making out on the porch. Andie startles when she hears the door open. Both Andie and Nicky jump back an inch from each other and look up at Sam.

"How old are you young man?" Sam asks Nicky in a threatening tone.

"Nineteen, sir." Nicky answers.

"I suggest you get your ass out of here before I count to five." Sam threatens him.

Nicky gets up. "I'll text you later, Belle," he tells Andie as he walks away.

"The hell you will!" Sam yells to Nicky as he leaves. Sam turns to look at Andie. "Get in the house, young lady." Sam follows Andie in the house through the back door.

"What was she doing out there?" Addison asks Sam as he walks back in the house with Andie.

"She was making out with a nineteen year old guy." Sam tells Addison.

"I already called your parents." Addison tells Andie. "They're on their way over here now."

"Great!" Andie folds her hands against her chest and sighs.

The younger group of tweens peek their heads in the kitchen and laugh. "Ha, ha, you're in trouble, Lucas." Lila tells her older brother.

After about ten minutes, Cooper comes through the door with Charlotte. "Addison! What the hell is going on?" Cooper calls through the house.

Noah looks at his parents. " She's in the kitchen. Andie and Chase were drinking alcohol with Danielle in the kitchen."

Charlotte and Cooper march into the kitchen. Addison holds up the bottle of rum. "They finished off my bottle of rum and now they're drinking beer."

"Ah, liquor before beer never fear, beer before liquor never sicker." Cooper jokes. The teens laugh.

"Really dad?" Chase asks. "Is that true?"

Charlotte shoves at Cooper's arm. "Are you kidding me?" She glares at him.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood." He looks at Sam and Addison. "The tension in this room is so tight I could cut it with a knife."

Charlotte looks at Andie and Chase "I thought we could trust you? I wanted to anyway."

"Sorry, momma, you can still trust us. We just wanted to try it. It won't happen again." Chase tells his momma.

"I caught Andie out back with a nineteen year old." Sam tells Cooper.

Cooper looks at Andie. "Was it Nicky?"

Andie nods.

"What were you doing with him?"

"Nothing, daddy…. Ugh! This is so embarrassing. Can we just go home now?"

"Get in the car!" Charlotte glares at Andie and Chase. "Now!"

The teens climb into the the car. Drew's sound asleep in the back row of the Escalade. On the way home, Charlotte calmly but firmly informs them. "You're grounded for one month, you're not allowed out of the house, except for school and for basketball and lacrosse practice."

"But I didn't do anything, momma!" Noah complains. "I was just playing video games."

"Not you, Noah, just Andie and Chase." Charlotte corrects herself.

"Whatever." Andie sticks a piece of gum in her mouth and starts chomping on it. She offers Chase a piece.

The car is silent for the remainder of the ride home aside from the radio.

Cooper carries a sleeping Drew up to his bed before joining Charlotte in the master bedroom. "Do you think I was too tough on them?" Charlotte asks.

"No." Cooper tells her.

"Didn't you go to parties when you were a teenager?" Charlotte changes into her pj's and asks.

"I went to parties but my friends were all nerds, there was never any alcohol served. I didn't try alcohol until I was in college. What about you?" Cooper asks Charlotte.

Charlotte thinks back. "I went to parties where alcohol was served but we were smart enough not to get caught."

"You bad girl." Cooper swats Charlotte on the butt.

"Are you going to punish me?" Charlotte teases playfully.

"Better late than never." Cooper pushes her down onto the bed.

Andie sits in her room talking to Chase. "What were you doing outside with Nicky?" Chase asks. "Were you smoking?"

"No, we were just kissing." Andie chomps on her gum.

"Do you like him? I mean really like him?" Chase asks.

"Aha."

"You're not going to bang him, are you?" Chase asks.

"I don't know." Andie shrugs. " I'm not allowed to go out for a month anyway."

Andie texts Nicky, "Can't c u 4 a month."

Nicky texts back "Bummer! c u!"

Andie asks Chase, "what do you think he means by see you? Does he mean like, see you in a month, or see you, like it's over?"

Chase shrugs. "It could mean either."

"Should I ask him?"

"Not unless you wanna' look desperate." Chase laughs.

"I guess." Andie tosses her phone on the dresser. "Wanna' watch a movie?" She flicks on her TV.

"Sure." Chase chomps on his gum.


	4. Chapter 4

**_CHAPTER 4 - FAMILY BREAKFAST_**

* * *

><p>The next morning, Charlotte steps into the shower. She turns the water on and jumps when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around "Cooper! What's wrong with you? You scared the hell out of me."<p>

"Shhh." He hushes her. "You'll wake the kids."

Charlotte wraps her arms around him. "Didn't I satisfy you enough last night?"

"Mmm...hmm" He kisses her neck. "I want more."

"We could use a little morning exercise before breakfast." Charlotte runs her hands down his back.

"Mmm...Hmm." Cooper says. "I'm getting old. I need my daily exercise."

"It beats running." Charlotte soaps him up.

"It beats the gym." He kisses down her neck.

After they're done, Cooper dries off and puts on his clothes. "I'm going to get breakfaststarted before the kids wake up."

"K, I'm going to finish my shower." Charlotte picks up the shampoo bottle. "I'll be down after I wash my hair and don't tell the kids what we talked about last night until I come down."

"Got if, Chief." Cooper heads down to the kitchen. "Hurry."

* * *

><p>Andie's the first to come into the kitchen, Cooper's making breakfast. "Good Morning, Andie Candy."<p>

"Mornin', daddy."

"I made your favorite, nutella crepes with strawberries and bananas."

Andie looks at the crepes. "Thank you, daddy." She smiles and fixes a plate.

"I'm making Drew's favorite too."

"Chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Yep, so can you tell your brothers and tell them breakfast is ready?"

"Chase! Noah! Drew! Breaaaakfaaaaaast!" Andie screams.

"I could have done that." Cooper rolls up his eyes. "I meant go up to their rooms and tell them."

Noah and Drew run into the kitchen and find their seats at the table.

"My way works better." Andie smirks at Cooper. "They're here already and I didn't have to go upstairs."

Chase breezes into the kitchen, "Yum, crepes and chocolate chip pancakes."

Charlotte joins them at the table with a towel still wrapped around her head. "How was your shower?" Cooper asks.

"What's that supposed to mean, dad?" Chase chuckles and grabs a pancake. "A shower is a shower. How could it be good or bad?"

"That's what old people talk about." Noah bites into his crepe. "The shower is the most exciting part of their day."

Charlotte gives Cooper a discreet grin, he smiles back and then tell the kids, "Not true," Cooper puts a pancake on Drew's' plate. "We're all going to have an exciting day together today."

"What are we doing?" Andie asks.

"Your father and I decided we're taking you all to the pumpkin farm." Charlotte cuts up a crepe.

"Yay!" Four year old Drew exclaims.

"Do I hafta go?" Andie complains. "I'm sixteen."

"The pumpkin farm is for kids of all ages." Cooper responds. "I still love picking pumpkins, besides you'll have fun doing the corn maze."

"I remember Noah got lost in the corn maze when he was five, that was scary." Charlotte cuts up Drew's pancake.

"I wanna do the corn maze!" Drew calls out.

"We'll all do it together, we need some family time." Cooper looks around at the kids as they eat their breakfast.

"Your father and I discussed it last night, we decided that we're taking you all to Florida on your winter break from school." Charlotte tells them.

"What are we going to do in Florida that we can't do here?" Andie asks.

"It will be a family vacation." Cooper tells her. "We'll go to Disney World, Animal Kingdom, Epcot...we'll do all that family stuff."

"Why?" Chase asks.

"Because it's fun and that's what families do." Charlotte shoots.

Noah interrupts. "How come when we were little, Disneyland here in Cali was good enough but Drew gets to go to the real one in Florida?"

"Didn't I make it clear enough that we're all going as a family?" Charlotte says to him.

"Yes ma'am." Noah answers.

"Then stop complainin'. You're getting a free trip."

"Can I be excused, momma." Drew asks.

"Yes, you may." Charlotte tells her four year old.

"Me too?" Noah asks "Can I be excused?"

"Yes, you may." Charlotte tells her thirteen year old.

"May I be excused?" Fifteen year old Chase asks.

"No, you may not." Charlotte tells Chase. "Your father and I want to talk to you and Andie about last night."

"Here we go." Andie rolls her eyes.

"What you did last night at Lucas's house was wrong on so many levels." Charlotte tells them,

Cooper joins in. "First of all, you shouldn't have been drinking. Second, you disrespected Violet and Pete by behaving that way in their home."

Chase interrupts. "But Lucas invited us over."

Charlotte responds. "Lucas is a good kid, he got in over his head."

"Lucas isn't a kid, momma. He's nineteen." Andie tells her.

"But, you're still a kid. You're sixteen, you shouldn't have been a part of it." Charlotte tells her.

Cooper adds. "I especially didn't like what Sam told me about you being outside with Nicky."

"We were only kissing. That's it."

"Kissing leads to more." Charlotte tells her.

"Okay! Okay! I get it. You guys hate Nicky!" Andie complains.

"We don't hate Nicky but he's nineteen and you're sixteen." Charlotte tells her.

"Big deal? It's only three years apart." Andie grumps.

"It is a big deal when you're sixteen and he's nineteen."

"Are we done here?" Andie asks

"Yes, but remember you two are grounded for a month…no Nicky, no going out on the weekend, we're going to be doing family activities this month to keep you guys busy." Cooper tells them.

"Yay." Andie answers sarcastically as she walks out of the kitchen. Chase follows her.


	5. Chapter 5

**_CHAPTER 5 - ADULT NIGHT OUT_**

* * *

><p>Katy Perry's song 'Friday Night' blasts though the bar. "We should do this at least once a month, adult's night out, no kiddies allowed." Amelia sips her drink.<p>

Cooper sits between Charlotte and Violet "So, I hear Lucas wants to become a pediatrician?"

"Yep," Violet sips her drink. "He's following in his Uncle Coop's footsteps."

"And they're good foot steps to follow." Cooper sips his beer.

"Lucas can have Cooper's job when he retires." Sheldon suggests..

Cooper takes another sip of beer. "I'm not ready to retire just yet."

Pete joins the conversation. "Lucas won't have his medical degree for years. He's a college freshman. Don't rush my kid."

"Hey!" Amelia exclaims. "This is adult night, no talking about your kid." She looks at Pete.

Jolie laughs. "That's going to be hard to do since the kids take up most of our lives outside of work and we said we weren't going to talk about work tonight."

"So, what do we talk about?" Charlotte looks at Jolie and Amelia.

"Who wants to shoot some pool?" Cooper calls out.

Sam gets up. "I'm in."

"Me too." Cole follows Cooper and Sam to the pool table. Sheldon gets up and follows the rest of the men.

"How are Sheldon and Cole getting along lately?" Charlotte asks Amelia to make conversation.

Amelia slides her finger around the rim of her glass. "Let's just say they don't see eye to eye."

Violet listens in. "Why?" Violet asks. "What's going on?"

Amelia responds. "Sheldon doesn't like the way Cole does things with Dylan."

Jolie defends Cole. "That's because Sheldon tries to be Dylan's father. Cole is his father."

Amelia glares at Jolie." Dylan's only with you guys on the weekends. He lives with Sheldon. Sheldon is a damn good stepfather to Dylan."

"And, I'm a damn good stepmother to Dylan." Jolie shoots. "But I don't step all over your toes as his mother, like Sheldon steps on Cole's toes as his father."

Amelia retorts. "Sheldon, Sara and I are Dylan's main family. He lives with us. You, Cole and the twins are Dylan's extended family."

"Cole is just as much Dylan's father as you are his mother. He has just as much rights to him." Jolie snaps.

Violet holds her hand up. "Let's change the subject. Shall we ladies?"

Addison jumps in. "I'm taking Danielle to see Lady Gaga. I have two extra tickets. Any takers?"

"Andie would love to go." Charlotte's the first to respond.

"It's a date. You, me, the girls and Lady Gaga." Addison clinks glasses with Charlotte.

Amelia gets up. "I'm going to join the men and play some pool."

After Amelia leaves, Jolie comments. "I don't know what she was going on about?

Addison shrugs. "Dylan's her kid. Sheldon's her man."

Jolie emphasizes. "Dylan has a father, Cole."

Charlotte gets up. "I feel like playing pool tonight." Charlotte walks over to the pool room now too.

Cooper glances up and notices Charlotte walk in the pool room. "Now we're talking!" Cooper shouts. "Hot babes in the house!" He wraps his arm around Charlotte.

Charlotte looks up at him. "You did not just call me a babe."

Cooper smirks. "I called you a hot babe with the emphasis on hot."

Amelia bends over to take her shot with the pool cue. Sheldon looks at Cole. "Do not check out her ass."

"I wasn't." Cole shrugs.

"I saw you." Sheldon accuses.

"I feel like I'm out with a bunch of teenagers tonight." Charlotte sighs. Sam chuckles. "I think you're right."

Cooper raises his hand up. "The rules are nobody can check out each other's asses! Do we all got it?" He jokes.

"It's your turn, Charlotte." Amelia hands Charlotte a pool cue.

Cooper laughs. "Cover your eyes everyone, only I could check out this ass."

Charlotte shoots Cooper a glare. Cooper shouts. "Let's play some pool!" as Charlotte takes her shot.

After Charlotte's turn, Amelia asks her. "What do you s'pose they're talking about over there?" Amelia looks at Jolie, Addison and Violet who are still seated at the bar.

"Don't worry." Charlotte tells her. "Addison has your back."

Amelia nods. "I knew I could count on Addie."

After about an hour, the group breaks up. As they drive home, Charlotte tells Cooper. "We might as well just hung out with the kids and their friends tonight with the way the adults were behavin'."

Cooper laughs. "You're getting old, Chief."

"Speak for yourself. You're older than I am."

"We may be old but we're never boring."

"That's for sure." Charlotte smiles at Cooper.


	6. Chapter 6   Girl Talk

**_CHAPTER 6 - Girl Talk_**

* * *

><p>The doctor's are all puttering around the conference room waiting for Pete and Violet to show up for the morning meeting. "We'll give them five more minutes." Addison looks at her watch.<p>

"Move over old man." Sam tells Cooper as they jostle for the coffee pot.

"Who are you calling old?" Cooper elbows Sam in the ribs, joking with him. "I can still take you down."

"You wish." Sam flashes a smile.

Addison makes a suggestion. "I was thinking we need fresh blood in the office."

"What?" Charlotte screws up her face at Addison.

"I mean young faces. We need to hire some new faces around here."

Violet enters the conference room with Pete and offers. "If you can wait a few years, Lucas would love the job."

"He's still in college, Violet. I'm talking about now."

"What about Alexis?" Cooper asks. "She just completed her psychiatric residency."

"She's smart as a whip and a hard worker." Charlotte adds. Cooper nods his head in agreement.

"We already have two psychiatrists." Addison answers.

Amelia chimes in. "Sheldon's planning on retiring. He wants to stay home and spend more time with the kids."

"There you go!" Cooper suggests. "Let Alexis take over Sheldon's patients so he can retire."

"That's fair." Addison agrees. "Shall we begin the meeting now that everyone's here?"

"Before we start," Violet tells them, "Pete and I would like to invite you all to our annual Halloween party. It's for all ages so bring the kids."

Charlotte feels a knot start to form in her stomach. The mention of Halloween still gives her a sick feeling even after 18 years.

Cooper screws up his face and looks at Violet and Pete. "You're giving the kids a party after what went on at your house last month?"

Violet responds. "We'll be home this time to supervise. There's no problem." Violet looks at Charlotte. "You're awfully quiet this morning."

Charlotte answers. "The kids can come to your Halloween party but I'll pass."

Addison remembers that Halloween night Charlotte called her for help like it was yesterday. "Okay, enough about Halloween and parties. Let's get this meeting started."

* * *

><p>Andie and Danielle are seated at the lunch table in the high school cafeteria. "So," Danielle asks. "Did you invite Nicky to Lucas's Halloween party?"<p>

"I texted him about it. I wasn't allowed out of the house to see him the past month."

"And?" Danielle waits for the answer.

Andie sighs. "And… He said he already had plans for Halloween night."

"Oh." Danielle takes a bite of her sandwich.

"Why do you think he doesn't want to go to the party with me?" Andie asks her best friend.

"Probably cuz my Uncle Sam scared the crap out of him at Lucas's last party."

"Or?" Andie sighs.

"Or what?"

"Or… Nicky thinks I'm a big baby."

"Why would he think that?"

Andie takes a breath and lets it out. "We were kissing outside and it was good but then he put his hand under my shirt and tried to feel me up."

"So?" Danielle eats her sandwich.

"I freaked out and pulled away when he did that."

"Why?"

"I've never been felt up before."

"That means you're not ready."

"But, I'm sixteen. I should be ready."

Danielle answers. "I'm seventeen and I haven't been laid yet."

"But you want to." Andie points out." It's just that Mr. Goody Gentleman Lucas wants to wait."

Danielle laughs." I would have got laid at the party if Lucas's little sister didn't bang on the door and interrupt us."

"How old were you when you let Lucas feel you up the first time?"

"Fifteen, but I've known Lucas forever. You and Nicky are different. You need to get to know him better before you're comfortable letting him getting inside your shirt, Andie."

"I'm think he may have found another girlfriend. I haven't seen him in a month."

"If he found another girl that fast than he's not the guy you want to lose your virginity with." Danielle advices her.

"I guess." Andie sips her water.

"Why don't you go to the Halloween party with Tyler? He's hot."

Andie answers. "Tyler's like my brother. It would be like kissing my hot brother."

"You already have three brothers. Stop thinking of Tyler as another brother and think of him as the hot guy he is. If I wasn't with Lucas I would date Tyler in a heartbeat." Danielle tells Andie.

"Are you and Lucas going to get all cozy in the bedroom like last time?" Andie teases Danielle.

"Not a chance. My mom and his parents will be there."

Andie shrugs, "Mine won't be there."

"Why not?"

"My parents hate Halloween. They don't go to Halloween parties."

"Why?"

Andie tells Danielle. "When I was eight years old my momma told me she hates Halloween cuz that's when the monsters come out."

Danielle laughs. "Did you tell your momma that there are no such things as monsters?"

"I told her that the monsters were just people dressed up in costumes. Then, she told me that there were monsters that looked like nice people but they were really monsters."

Danielle screws up her face "What?"

"It freaked me out, so I told my dad. He said she meant to say there were some bad people walking around that look nice, so you have to always be careful of strangers."

"But what does any of that have to do with them hating Halloween?"

"I think a stranger did something mean to my momma on Halloween."

"What do you think the stranger did?"

"Maybe he threw eggs at her. I don't ask because I don't want to upset her just like Nicky doesn't ask his mother about his sister who died when she was little."

"Here we go, back to Nicky. You're in love with Nicky. You can't stop thinking about him."

"Am not." Andie answers.

"If you're not in love with Nicky, then ask Tyler to the Halloween party."

"Fine." Andie accepts the challenge "I will as soon as I see him."

The change of class bell rings.

"Here's your chance. The seniors are coming in the cafeteria now for lunch." Danielle points to Tyler.

Danielle and Andie pass Tyler on their way out of the cafetereia. Andie swallows. "Hey Tyler! Ya wanna go to Lucas's Halloween party with me?"

Tyler checks Andie out looking her up and down. "Sure thing."

"Mission accomplished." Andie holds her chin up high.

Danielle pats Andie on the back, "I'm proud of ya' girl."


	7. Chapter 7

**_CHAPTER 7 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN_**

* * *

><p>Black and orange balloons adorn Violet and Pete's house. The lights are kept dim. *We're Coming To Get Ya'* from A.N.T. Farm blasts from the sound system. Marley and Lila sing and dance along while greeting the guests in their Zomibie costumes. "~~<em>Callin' all the monsters, callin' all the monsters~~oh ya aye, oh ya aye~~Tonight all the monsters gonna dance~~We're coming t get ya'~~" <em>The twelve year old girls sing as they greet trick or treaters at the door.

Four year old Drew Freedman is dressed as Spiderman and four year old Sara Wallace is a Candy Corn Witch. They stick their hands in a pretend mummy, feeling the body parts with the other young party guests.

Amelia's twelve year old son, Dylan, announces to his friends. "This party is lame."

"Is not!" Twelve year old Lila Wilder defends the party at her house.

"I'm not wearing a blind fold and playing stick the stem on the pumpkin with my four year old sister." Dylan grimaces.

"My parents needed to set up games for all ages." Lila tells him.

"What games are there for us to play?" Dylan questions her.

"We could play Mr. Bones Relay Race." Lila suggests.

"Are you kidding me?" Dylan scoffs. "I played that with my kindergarten class when I was five."

Marley suggests. "We should go outside and think of a game to play." The group follows Marley out into the backyard. They all know Marley's the brains of the group.

"What do you want to play?" Cole Jr. asks his twin sister.

Noah has an idea first. "How about spin the bottle?"

"I'm in." Dylan grabs an empty soda bottle off the table.

The group sits down in a circle when, Julia, Marisa's younger daughter comes out to join them. "Can I play?"

"Perfect." Lila nods. "Now we have three girls and three boys."

"What are you playing?" Julia asks.

"Spin the bottle." Dylan tells her.

"How do you play?" Julia asks.

"We have to take turns spinning the bottle and you have to kiss whoever it lands on." Dylan explains. "I'll go first and show you." Dylan spins the bottle and it lands on Marley.

"You can't kiss Marley." Lila scowls. "She's your half sister. That would be incense."

"You mean incest." Cole jr laughs. "Incense is scented stuff you burn for the smell, like candles."

"Gross!" Marley's disgusted. "I'm definitely not kissing you, Dylan."

Noah points out. "This game isn't going to work since Marley has two brothers playing. It means she can only kiss me."

"Okay." Dylan says. "Then, let's play truth or dare." Dylan explains the rules. "You have to say if you want to take truth or dare before you hear the question. I'll go first to show you" Dylan announces again. "I pick Marley. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Marley smiles ready for the challenge.

"I dare you to take off your shirt." Dylan says.

Cole Jr. intervenes. "No way. I don't want to see my sister without her shirt on."

Lila adds. "She's your half sister, Dylan. Why would you ask her to take her shirt off? That's gross!"

"I'm not playing anymore!" Marley gets up and stomps inside the house.

Chase is inside helping Drew and Sara paints pumpkins. Marley stomps over and grabs some paint.

"What's wrong with you?" Chase asks Marley.

"Dylan dared me to take my shirt off in front of everyone. I'm not playing with them anymore!"

Chase sighs. "I guess I need to go out and supervise the tweenies more than the little kids. Can you keep an eye on Drew and Sara for me?"

"Sure, they're so cute." Marley paints pumpkins with the four year olds.

Chase strolls outside to the backyard and finds the tweens. "What are y'all doin' out here?" He asks.

"Just hangin' out." Dylan answers.

"That's not what I heard."

"Did Marley rat us out?" Dylan demands. "She's such a girlie baby!"

Lila defends Marley. "Marley's not a baby. You dared her to take her shirt off." Lila screws up her face.

Sheldon walks into the backyard with Pete. "What's all the commotion, Lila" Pete asks his daughter.

"Nothing." Lila tells Pete.

"Then you kids won't mind if Sheldon and I hang out here with you?" Pete smirks. "It's a nice night. Look at the full moon."

The kids collectively grunt and sigh.

Inside, Andie tells Danielle. "The tweens are having are having a better time than us."

Danielle nods. "We have to fix that."

Andie asks Danielle and Tyler. "Do you want to go down to the spooky walk at the park?"

"Sure." Tyler nods. "That's gotta be better than painting pumpkins and feeling up mummies."

"You guys go ahead." Danielle tells them. "I have to wait for Lucas. We'll catch up with you in a little bit."

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler walk through the tree lined trail. Teenage volutnteers dressed in scary costumes jump out from behind trees at them. Andie jumps when she touches a vampire in a coffin and it jumps up and grabs her. "Ha! He got you good." Tyler laughs. They laugh about it and walk further down the trail when Andie's face suddenly drops in horror. "What is it?" Tyler asks her.<p>

"Nothing." Andie watches Nicky walk into the large tool shed that has been transformed into a haunted house for Halloween. Nicky's holding hands with a pretty blonde. Andie takes Tyler's hand and pulls him into the haunted tool shed. She looks through the fog supplied by a fog machine for Nicky and his date. Tyler looks at the life sized animated zombie props. They pass under some bloody baby zombies spinning on a ceiling fan. A life-sized animated prop of Freddy Krueger sings _~~One, two; Freddy's coming for you_~~_Three, four; better lock your door~~ Five, six; get your cucifix ~~Seven, eight; better stay up late~~ Nine, ten; never sleep again_. "That's creepy, let's get the hell out of here." Andie pulls Tyler by the hand.

On the way out they pass Nicky again near the exit, he's making out with the blonde in a corner near an animated zombie prop of a little girl in a bloody white nightgown. The girl zombie's head spins on her bloody neck while her eyes light up red. Tyler's watching the zombie. Andie watches Nicky making out with the blonde. She can't keep her eyes off them as she approaches the exit, she trips down the stairs, falling forward on her knees.

"You okay?" Tyler asks. "That bloody girl must have really freaked you out."

Andie gets up and brushes herself off. "I'm freaked out that's for sure." Andie grumps.

Nicky and his date exit the haunted tool shed. They pass Andie as she brushes herself off. "You need to watch your step." Nicky smirks while walking by with his date. Andie grumbles something to herself.

Andie grabs Tyler's hand and pulls him along briskly, following Nicky and his date. They walk at a fast pace until they catch up with Nicky and pass him and his date. Andie looks back to make sure Nicky can see her, she pushes Tyler up against a tree and kisses him on the lips.

She keeps her eyes open so she can watch Nicky and his date pass by, once they're out if sight she breaks her kiss with Tyler.

"What was that?" Tyler's totally taken by surprise.

Andie shrugs, "I felt like it."

Danielle and Lucas catch up to Andie and Tyler. Lucas gives Tyler a high five.

The four of them continue walking the spooky trail. "I guess you're over Nicky now?" Danielle whispers to Andie.

They let Lucas and Tyler walk ahead and talk.

"I'm totally over him!" Andie tells Danielle. "I saw him here with some blonde bimbo."

"Is that why you kissed Tyler?"

Andie shrugs "I like Tyler. He's a nice guy."

"Don't break Tyler's heart, Andie. Don't use him to get to Nicky"

"I'm not." Andie defends.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper are having martinis on the couch, watching a movie together. Chase comes in the door carrying a sleepy Drew. Drew's still wearing his Spiderman costume. Noah walks in yawning behind them. "Uncle Pete gave us a ride home." Chase informs his parents.<p>

Charlotte looks up at her three boys. "How was the party?"

"It was okay, I guess," Noah answers, yawning and still wearing his Darth Vader costume.

"You need to go to bed, Darth Vader" Charlotte smiles. "Where's your sister?"

"She ditched the party with Danielle, Tyler and Lucas to go to the Spooky Walk at the park."

"What about Nicky?" Cooper asks. "Was he going to the Spooky Walk?"

"Don't worry about Nicky, dad. He has a girlfriend." Chase tells Cooper.

"How do you know?" Charlotte asks Chase.

"I just saw him making out with some blonde girl in his driveway, after Uncle Pete dropped us off." Chase informs his parents.

"I hope Andie doesn't come home and have to see that." Charlotte sighs.

"I do." Cooper gets up to look out the window. "Let Andie see the kind of guy Nicky really is."

Lucas pulls up and let's Andie out of the car. Tyler and Danielle wave goodbye to her before Lucas drives off. Andie walks up the driveway, she spots Nicky's car parked in his adjacent driveway. She can see him in the car with the blonde. She walks in the front door and slams it with a scowl on her face.

"Are you okay, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte asks her daughter.

"I'm good."

"Did you see Nicky in his car with that blonde?" Cooper asks.

"Yes, daddy."

"I told you he was no good for you."

"Nicky doesn't matter. I'm dating Tyler now." Andie walks up the stairs to her bedroom.

Charlotte looks at Cooper and rolls her eyes.

Cooper sings a little tune. ~~"I'm glad I'm not a teenager in love."~~

"What the heck?" Chase looks at his father.

Cooper answers. "I'm just saying, I'm happy I'm married to your momma and not a teenager."

"So, you'd rather be an old man than be young and have you're whole life ahead of you?" Chase questions.

""Who are you calling an old man?" Cooper scoffs.

"You're old." Charlotte nudges his arm, teasing him.

"See, dad, even momma thinks you're an old man."

"Your momma's not too far behind me."

Charlotte looks at Chase" Just carry your little brother upstairs and put him to bed. We'll be up to say goodnight in a minute."

Charlotte sits back down next to Cooper on the couch and finishes her martini. "Another Halloween down." She pats Cooper on the knee. " I'm glad this night is over and the kids are all home safe."

"Me too." Cooper kisses her nose gently.

* * *

><p><strong><em>It's a little early for Halloween but I didn't think you wanted me to wait that long to post this chapter! =)<em>**

**_To Annie- Nicky's not Andie's brother (her brother's are Chase, Noah and Drew). Nicky is her couisn by blood but she has no idea since Cooper's adopted and never sought out his birth famiy. Only the readers and Nicky's mother, Leslie, know about it. =)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_CHAPTER EIGHT - THE DOUBLE DATE_**

* * *

><p>It's a crisp fall Friday night. Andie waits on the front steps for Lucas, Danielle, and Tyler to pick her up. They plan to have a double date at the Santa Monica Pier tonight.<p>

Andie watches Nicky walk out his front door with his date. Nicky smiles and waves at Andie as he walks to his car. Andie smiles and waves back. Nicky presses his date up against the passenger side door of his car. He kisses and gropes the long haired blonde, Andie watches. All the sudden, she's startled by the sound of Lucas honking his horn. Danielle yells out the window. "Let's go, Andie!"

Andie hops in the backseat next to Tyler. She scoots close to him and puts her hand on his knee. Tyler smiles and puts his hand on her knee.

"Isn't that cute?" Danielle teases them from the front seat. "You two behave back there." The four friends arrive at the Santa Monica Pier. They start out eating some burgers and chicken fingers with fries. They try out the ring toss. Tyler wins Andie a white stuffed dog with purple ears. Andie hugs him tight. "Nobody's ever won anything for me before, except my dad when I was five, after that all the prizes went to one of my little brothers."

"I'm happy to be the first guy that's not your dad to win you something." He kisses her.

"Let's go on the Pacific Wheel!" Andie pulls Tyler. Danielle and Lucas follow them. They wait on line until it's finally their turn. Andie and Tyler climb in the bucket. Danielle and Lucas climb in the bucket right behind them. They pose and take pictures of each other with their phones.

"This is fun." Andie tells Tyler.

"Can I kiss you?" Tyler asks.

"Why are you asking me? It's not the first time."

"I mean a real kiss. I figure this would be a good spot for our first _real _kiss."

"Okay." Andie shrugs.

Tyler leans in and puts his lips on Andie's. She knows it's wrong but she can't help comparing his kiss to Nicky's. Nicky's kisses are definitely better but Nicky's had a lot more practice than Tyler so she gives him a break. His hands wander up and down her body. Andie lets her hand wander up and down Tyler's chest and legs.

"Look at the lovebirds." Danielle tells Lucas. "Go for it!" Danielle shouts out to her friends as she snaps a photo of them.

Lucas laughs at them before looking down from the Pacific Wheel. "Is that my parents?" Lucas points to some people waiting on line for the Ferris wheel.

"Yep." Danielle nods "And Andie's parents are in line right behind them."

"Holy crap!" Lucas says "You better warn Andie before her parents see her making out with Tyler."

"Too late." Danielle laughs. "They already see her. Her dad is pointing to them, showing her mom."

"Look what _your_ daughter is doing." Cooper points out Andie and Tyler to Charlotte.

"Why is she always _my_ daughter when she's doing something you don't approve of?" Charlotte elbows Cooper.

"Behave kids, no fighting in public." Chase teases his parents.

"It must be in her genes." Cooper elbows Charlotte and grins.

"No." Pete tells Cooper. "They're just horny teenagers with raging hormones."

"Lucas and Danielle are behaving." Charlotte points out to Pete.

"I'm a little worried about Lucas." Pete smirks. "If I was his age and up there with a pretty girl like Danielle, I'd be doing the same thing Tyler and Andie are doing."

"Oh, stop it Pete." Violet tells her husband. "Lucas is a good boy. We raised him well."

"A little too good, if you ask me." Pete tells Violet.

The ride stops to let the group off.

Andie asks Danielle,"Did you see me and Tyler at the top."

Lucas answers. "The whole park saw you two making out at the top, including your parents." Lucas points out Charlotte and Cooper waiting in line for the Pacific wheel.

"Andie's mouth drops when she spots her parents waving at her. "What are they doing here?"

"Oh crap!" Tyler exclaims. "Is your father going to kick my ass?"

"Don't be crazy." Andie tells him. "He likes your mom too much to kick your ass but he night kick my ass."

Cooper gets off line and walks over to Andie and Tyler. "So, Andie Candy? Did you have fun on the Pacific Wheel?"

Andie ignores her father.

Cooper smirks. "It looked like you were having a good time." Cooper turns around and shouts out to Charlotte who's saving his place in line. "Maybe we should try it, momma!"

Charlotte laughs and Cooper walks back over to her.

"That's it, dad?" Chase asks. "That's all Andie gets for making out on the Pacific Wheel with Tyler?"

"Embarrassing her in front of her friends isn't enough?" Cooper asks Chase.

"She embarrassed herself." Charlotte grabs Cooper's arm. "It's our turn." Charlotte and Cooper climb in the bucket.

"You're not going to embarrass me are you?" Chase asks them.

"Pretend you don't know us." Cooper smiles as their bucket moves up.

Noah and Lila get in the next bucket followed by Violet and Pete.

Chase looks down at his four year old brother, Drew. "It's just you and me kid." He says as they climb into their bucket.

"This is gonna be fun!" Drew yells out. He waves at Charlotte and Cooper in their bucket.

"You better behave." Chase yells at his parents. "Your kid is watching."

"Then, cover his eyes!" Cooper yells to Chase.

"I was talking about me!" Chase yells back.

Cooper gives Charlotte a quick peck on the lips. "We'll behave for the Ferris wheel ride but when I get you home, well, you'll just have to wait and see." Charlotte tells Cooper


	9. Chapter 9  Family and Friends

**_CHAPTER 9 FAMILY and FRIENDS_**

* * *

><p>Andie's standing in her driveway again. She has the perfect vantage point of Nicky's house next door. She's wearing a short purple skirt and blouse. She's utterly surprised when Nicky pulls his car into <em>her<em> driveway and not his. Andie approaches his car and he opens the window. "What's up?" Andie asks.

"You wanna' hang out with me tonight?" Nicky lights up a cigarette.

"What happened to that blonde girl you were dating?"

"We broke up last week."

"I can't." Andie tells Nicky. "I'm going out tonight. I'm waiting for my friends to pick me up."

"Let me guess, you're waiting for wimpy Tyler and his friends?" Nicky takes a puff of his cigarette.

Andie puts her hands on her hips. "Tyler is far from wimpy."

Nicky scoffs. "Tyler's a boy."

Andie laughs. "You're only one year older than Tyler."

"Age doesn't determine a boy from a man, if you know what I mean." Nicky raises his eyebrows and puffs on his cigarette.

"I get what you mean." Andie still has her hands on her hips.

"So, is Tyler a boy or a man?" Nicky asks Andie "You're dating him. You would know."

"I'm not telling." Andie licks her lips and flips her hair back.

Nicky exclaims. "Tyler's not a man yet. Ha! Take me for instance, I'm a man. Tyler's still a boy." Nicky takes a long puff on his cigarette and blows out a large cloud of smoke.

Andie watches the cloud of smoke fly by and licks her lips again. "I kind of knew that about you." Andie checks Nicky out in his black button up shirt and black jeans.

"How? Nicky asks.

Andie flips her hair again. "I can just tell."

"Hop in." Nicky tells Andie. "I'll teach you to drive."

Andie's about to answer but Lucas pulls up in front of Andie's house and honks the horn.

Andie tells Nicky. "I gotta go, my friends are here."

"See ya', Belle." Nicky waves and backs out of the driveway. Andie runs over to Lucas's car.

"What did Nicky want?" Danielle asks.

"Uh…He was looking for his cat." Andie lies.

"He doesn't seem like the cat type." Danielle screws up her face.

"I guess that's why he lost it." Andie shrugs.

Tyler chuckles. "I picture him holding a bimbo in his arms, not a cat."

Danielle and Lucas laugh.

"Hey," Andie defends Nicky. "You guys don't know him. He's a nice guy."

Tyler scoffs. "Nice guy, my ass."

* * *

><p>Charlotte's in the house preparing for guests. The door bell rings. "I'll get it!" Cooper shouts out. Scout wags her tail and barks at Amelia and Sheldon as they walk in with Dylan and Sara. Sheldon backs off when Scout tries to jump on him.<p>

"Down, Scout!" Cooper commands. Sheldon backs up.

"Don't be afraid, daddy." Four year old Sara tells Sheldon. "Scout won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid." Sheldon tells his daughter.

"Sure, looks like you are." Twelve year old Dylan laughs.

"Come on, Sara, let's play in my backyard." Four year old Drew squeals. Sara and Drew run outside with Scout following. "Look, Sheldon, you're safe now." Dylan laughs.

Violet and Pete walk in the door next. Violet hands Cooper a pie. "I made this for dessert."

"Oh shit." Amelia exclaims. "I knew I forgot something. I was supposed to bring ice cream for the kid's dessert."

"Good going, mom" Dylan pats Amelia on the back.

"Do you want me to run up to the store?" Amelia asks Cooper.

"No. It's fine. I'm sure we have something else the kids can eat." Cooper takes the pie into the kitchen. Violet follows him. "It's strawberry rhubarb."

"Ohhh…My favorite." Cooper smiles.

"I knew that. That's why I bought it!"

"What? You mean you didn't bake it yourself?" Cooper teases.

"I had to work today and then I had to take Lila to the orthodontist." Violet defends.

"It's okay, Vi. I'll live."

Cooper hands Charlotte the pie. "Strawberry rhubarb."

"Your favorite." Charlotte takes the pie from him. "Figures you make Cooper's favorite and not mine." Charlotte tells Violet.

"I didn't make it. I bought it." Violet confesses. "I don't know your favorite. What is your favorite pie, Charlotte?"

"Chocolate cream, course!"

"Oh yeah, of course." Violet smirks at Cooper. "So, who else is coming?" Violet asks Charlotte.

"Just your family and Amelia and Sheldon."

"What about Cole and Jolie?"

"I didn't want a cat fight to break out between Amelia and Jolie. I'm invitin' them over with Addison and Sam next week."

"Well, haven't you become quite the dinner hostess?" Violet grins.

"I'm tryin'." Charlotte calls out to Chase. "Set the kid's table for me!"

"How many at the kids table?" Chase shouts back.

"Six, counting you, Noah, Drew, Sara, Lila and Dylan." Charlotte tells him.

"Mom, I'm fifteen. When do I get to sit at the adult table?"

"Don't worry about it." Lila tells him. "You're sitting with us. We're twelve, it's not like we're babies like Drew and Sara."

"Drew and Sara are sitting with us too." Chase tells Lila.

"So, we out number those babies." Lila answers.

"We're not babies!" Sara yells at Lila. "We're four!"

"Yeah, we're four!" Drew holds up four fingers.

Charlotte looks on. "How 'bout we make a special table just for the four year olds?"

"Yay!" Sara and Drew clap.

Charlotte tells Chase and Noah. "Bring in the little kiddie table from the playroom and set it up nice for your brother and Sara to eat at."

"What?" Chase complains.

"You didn't want to sit with babies, so set 'em up their own table!" Charlotte orders.

Violet looks at Charlotte. "Did I ever tell you turned out to be an awesome mom?"

"Thank you." Charlotte smiles. "I am, aren't I?" She says to herself as she puts the food out.


	10. Chapter 10  Beard and Boys

**_CHAPTER - 10 Bears and Boys_**

* * *

><p>Andie walks home from the bus stop with Chase. Nicky's waiting at the end of the driveway for her smoking a cigarette. He's holding a white teddy bear.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Andie asks Nicky.

"I have something for you." Nicky hands her the bear.

Andie takes it. "Thank you. It's adorable, but it's not my birthday yet."

"I know. I saw it and I thought of you."

"Gag!" Chase says.

Andie looks at her brother. "Chase, go in the house. I'll be there in a few minutes." Chase walks up the driveway. Once he's out of sight Andie tells Nicky. "You know that I'm dating Tyler."

"Tyler's not your type. You belong with me." Nicky tells her.

Andie's mouth drops in surprise at that statement. She doesn't know what to say. "I better get going," she tells him. "Thank you for the bear." Andie walks up the driveway to her house.

"Why'd he give you that bear?" Chase asks as he fixes himself a snack.

"He likes me."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why, Chase? I'm likeable."

"But, he knows you're with Tyler."

"He doesn't care." Andie puts the bear down on the kitchen table and makes herself some popcorn for snack. She starts to do her homework when the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it." Chase answers the door and lets Tyler in.

"Tyler? What are you doing here?" Andie asks

"I figured since we both have homework, we could do it together." He sits on the couch and does homework with Andie. After a half hour, Charlotte comes home with Drew. "I have to work at the hospital." Charlotte says. "I need you kids to keep an eye on Drew for me until your father gets home."

"No problem, momma." Andie waves up her hand.

Drew runs into the kitchen for a snack. "Where did this bear come from?" Drew picks the white Teddy Bear up and looks at it.

"It's Andie's" Chase answers.

"I like it. Where did you get it?" Drew asks his sister.

"Uh….Uh…" Andie looks at Tyler.

"Where'd you get it?" Tyler asks.

Andie confesses. "Nicky just gave it to me. I don't know why. He just did."

"Can I talk to you in your room?" Tyler asks Andie.

"Sure." Andie gets up. Tyler follows her to her room. He closes the door and crushes his lips into Andie's. He pushes her onto the bed and presses her down into the sheets.

"What are you doing?" Andie pushes Tyler off of her.

"This is what you want, isn't it Andie?" Tyler grabs her boob, cupping it and squeezing. "You like bad boys. I can be bad."

"Stop it, Tyler. You're acting like a moron."

"Now, I'm a moron? You like Nicky because he's experienced. I'm giving you what you want."

"Except, you're not experienced." Andie tells him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what, Tyler? I don't think we should see each other anymore!"

"You're kidding me right?" Tyler asks.

"Look Tyler, you're a nice guy. You pushing me on the bed just now, that's not you. I don't want you to change for me" Andie tells him. "I don't want you to be a bad boy for me."

"You're really breaking up with me?"

"Yes."

"Why? So you can date him?"

"I'm not dating Nicky."

"You probably will be by the end of the week."

"No, I won't. I need some time to think. You should go home now."

Tyler picks up his books from the living room. "I guess this is goodbye." He walks out the door.

"Bye." Andie says. She walks him to the front door.

Chase looks at her. "Don't tell me you just broke up with Tyler because Nicky gave you a Teddy Bear?"

"I broke up with Tyler because he got all jealous that Nicky gave me that bear and started acting like a moron."

"What did he do?"

"He tried to be Nicky, and he's not."

"What does that mean?" Chase asks.

"Never mind." Andie picks up the bear and carries it to her bedroom.

Andie sits on her bed with the bear and calls Danielle. "I just broke up with Tyler."

"Holy crap!" Danielle tells her "Lucas just broke up with me."

"Why?" Andie asks.

"He got accepted into Yale for next semester. He said we should see other people while he's away."

"Are you okay with it?" Andie asks.

"I have no choice. He's going to be on the other side of the country dating college women. I'm back on the market."

"It's wierd that Lucas broke up with you at the same time I broke up with Tyler."

"Why did you break up with Tyler?"

"Nicky gave me a stuffed Teddy Bear and Tyler was jealous." Andie holds the soft bear up to her face. "He got all weird so I had to break up with him."

"I see. Are you going to start dating Nicky now?" Danielle asks.

"If he asks me to, I might." Andie kisses the Teddy Bear.

"Then would you mind if I ask Tyler out?"

Andie puts the bear down. "Are you serious?"

"Andie, you're in love with Nicky. You dated Tyler because Nicky wasn't available but now he is so you broke up with Tyler. I know you. I'm your BFF."

"For the record, I do like Tyler but I can't get Nicky off my brain."

"That's cuz you're in love with Nicky." Danielle tells her.

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. I do" Danielle answers. "So, you shouldn't mind if I ask Tyler out."

"Would it be fair if I told you _not _to ask Tyler out?" Andie asks.

"Not really because you get Nicky and me and Tyler get to sit home alone."

"It's just that, I'm not sure. I mean …I do like Tyler and if it wasn't for Nicky I would have let Tyler jump my bones today."

"Alright, I won't ask Tyler out." Danielle tells her. "I'll just sit home and watch movies with my mother and Sam for now on." Danielle tries to make Andie feel guilty.

"Come on, Danielle, you're hot. Lots of guys would love go out with you. Why do you have to pick Tyler?"

"Because he's cute and hot and nice…-"

"I get it, but he's also mine." Andie says.

"You broke up with him, Andie. You can't have them both."

"Give me a week to decide." Andie tells Danielle. "I don't know if I'm ready to date Nicky. I mean…I like him but I'm a little scared."

"Why?"

"He's a man, not a boy, ya know." Andie sighs. "And I don't know if I'm ready to date a man yet. Tyler may be more my speed. Just give me a week to think about it and if I choose Nicky then you can have Tyler all to yourself. Deal?"

Danielle hesitates but then answers. "Deal. I'll give you one week to make up your mind but if you can't decide or you choose Nicky, Tyler's mine."

"Deal." Andie agrees and they hang up. Andie hugs her Teddy Bear and thinks about what she should do.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Who do y'all like better for Andie? Nicky or Tyler?<em>**


	11. Chapter 11  Andie and Nicky First times

**_CHAPTER 11 - Andie and Nicky; First times_**

* * *

><p>Danielle and Tyler sit on a bench in the park. "Andie should be here any minute." Danielle says. "I hope she isn't going to be mad."<p>

"How can she be mad?" Tyler scoffs. "She broke up with me. I can date whoever I want."

"I know but she asked me to wait a week while she decided."

"She doesn't get to decide." Tyler grabs Danielle's hand. "Why should I wait for her to decide when I can have someone like you?"

Danielle kisses Tyler on the lips.

Cooper pulls up alongside the grass in front of the park. Andie is about to get out of the car when she notices Danielle and Tyler who are now making out on the bench. Her mouth drops open. She freezes in place and stares for a minute. Cooper watches her face and notices the direction of her gaze. "I'm sorry, Andie Candy."

"Just take me home, daddy."

"How does some ice cream sound?" Cooper asks.

"Nah, I'd rather just go home, please."

"Home it is." Cooper starts up the car and they drive away.

"I know it's hard but there will be more boys. You're only sixteen."

"I'm not upset about them kissing. I already broke up with Tyler. It was just awkward. I wasn't going to hang out with them at the park if they're going to be sucking each other's faces. I'd be the third wheel."

Cooper laughs. 'Yeah, that would be awkward." Cooper drops Andie at home while he takes the three boys golfing for the afternoon. "Your momma's working." Cooper tells Andie, "why don't you come golfing with me and the boys."

"No thanks, daddy. I'll stay home and read." Andie insists.

After the house is empty, Andie takes a shower. She blow dries and curls he reddish blonde hair. She applies her makeup and borrows some false eyelashes she finds in Charlotte's makeup kit. She puts on red lipstick. After she's pleased with her hair and makeup she slips into a clingy red dress with matching heels. She's ready now. She walks out the door and across the driveway and lawn to Nicky's front door. She rings the bell. Nicky answers.

"Well hello there." He looks her up and down in her red dress. He takes special notice of her false eyelashes and how the red lipstick accentuates her full lips.

"Is your mother home?" She asks.

"No, why do you want my mother?"

"I don't want your mother, I want you." She steps into his house. "Where's your bedroom? She asks.

Nicky points. "Straight down the hall, it's the last room on the left. Why?"

Andie skips off down the hall and into the bedroom. She sits down on the edge of the bed and tosses off her heels."

Nicky follows Andie to his bedroom and stands at the doorway. "What's going on?" He asks.

Andie smiles. "My birthday is in two weeks."

"I know when your birthday is." Nicky answers while admiring her red dress from across the room.

"I figured you could give me my birthday present early."

"I didn't get you anything yet. What do you want for your birthday?"

Andie pulls her dress over her head and tosses it to him. "I want you."

Nicky catches the dress in his hands. "Are you sure?" He stares at her sitting on his bed in a black lace bra and matching panties.

She nods. "Very sure." She pats her hand on the bed signaling for him to sit next to her.

He's there in a flash right next to her. "Why the sudden change of heart? What about Tyler?" He asks as he pulls off his own shirt.

She watches him undress down to his boxers "It's not sudden, I've been wanting you for a long time and you were right about Tyler. I don't want a boy. I want a man."

Nicky's lips are on hers instantly while his hands move up and down her body. She follows his lead moving her hands along his body. It feels good and she's still kissing him when she feels his fingers fumbling to unhook her bra. She sucks in a deep breath and freezes a minute. He notices and asks, "you okay?" as he pulls the bra straps down her arms and off her body.

"I'm okay." She nods. She stays completely still and watches his eyes as he looks over her firm perky breasts. He cups and squeezes them and smiles at her. He pays extra attention to the nipple area. She feels them harden under his fingertips. "That feels good." She tells him with a hint of shyness.

He smiles and kisses her again while he fondles her breast. He takes her hand in his and brings it down into his boxers and puts it on him. She feels him. "Wow," she says, "you're really hard."

He chuckles. "That's because you turn me on."

"Are you sure there isn't a bone in there?" She teases and plays with him.

"I'll show it to you after and you'll see. That feel nice." He tells her as her delicate fingers explore him. "You're doing great."

She runs her fingers up and down his shaft causing him to groan in pleasure. She's happy she can please him considering she's completely inexperienced. She strokes him harder and he moans louder sucking at her neck and working his way down to her breasts. She moans something fierce when he sucks on her nipples. "Oh my God Nicky! It can't believe how good that feels." He pushes her panties off and cups her between the legs.

"Don't stop." She whispers as he gives her gentle touches between her legs.

"You ready?" He asks her.

"I am." She inhales a deep breath and nods. He leans over and grabs something out of his bedside table. He tears something small open with his teeth.

"Umbrella?" She asks.

"What?" He scrunches his nose.

"Umbrella, you know condom? The kids at school call it an umbrella." She clarifies.

"Yeah, I'm getting it on now."

"Good." She swallows and waits.

"Okay." He pushes both her knees up and positions himself between her legs. "Open up wide and relax."

"She spreads her legs a little further apart and feels his fingers between her legs. "Okay." He says as he slowly eases himself into her and lies back on top of her looking at her face.

"Owww!" She grimaces.

"Relax, Belle. I'll go slow." He kisses down her neck and back down to her breasts. "Relax your leg muscles, Belle. Let yourself enjoy it." He licks and sucks on her breasts and she starts to moan again. "That feels great, keep doing that."

"Okay," he sucks on her nipple while slowly moving himself back and forth inside her. "How's that?"

"Better." She says. She rubs her arms up his back. He continues to suck on her breasts until she's moaning loud. "Oh God Nicky don't stop, it feels so good." He sucks harder. "Nicky, I'm feeling really good now."

"Move your hips into mine. Move with me." He pushes himself into her harder and faster." She screams. "Oh my God Nicky my body is tingling like crazy!"

"Are you feeling it, Belle?" He asks her.

"I'm feeling it."

He crashes his hips into hers hard and she grinds herself back into his hips. "Nicky!…Nicky!…Nicky!" She screams as she climaxes. He groans as he climaxes with her. After he falls down all sweaty on top of her. "You okay?" He asks.

"That was amazing." She smiles and plants little kisses on his face from his forehead to his nose. "Thank you."

He chuckles, "Don't need to thank me, I think I enjoyed it more than you." He lies his head down on her chest.

She rubs his back. "I meant thank you for making my first time good. I've heard horror stories."

"Yeah," He laughs and smiles at her. "You're one of the only girls I know who was actually able to have an orgasm the first time. Most girls are too tense to enjoy it the first time."

"It hurt when you first put it in."

"That's because you were tense and your muscles were tight but once you relaxed you were banging it like a pro." He laughs.

"You relaxed me, hearing your voice and when you…-"

"When I what?"

Andie's embarrassed. "When you were kissing my girls, that felt really good. It helped me relax."

"You mean like this?" He suckles her nipple again.

Andie laughs. "You're making me want to do it again."

"We can, let's just rest a little bit. I want us both to be fully charged so your second time is just as good as your first." Nicky lights up a cigarette. "You want one?" He offers.

Andie shakes her head, "I don't smoke."

She lies her head down on his chest. He rubs her back as he puffs his cigarette. "It feels good, lying with you naked, relaxing." She looks up at him.

He answers. "Like it was meant to be."

She laughs a little.

"What's so funny?" Nicky asks.

"It's not funny. I just surprised myself." Andie tells him.

"Huh?

"I can't believe how natural I feel lying naked with you." Andie kisses his chest.

"Sex is natural. People been doing it ever since they existed." Nicky shrugs his shoulders.

"It's just weird to me because nobody's ever seen me naked before but I feel comfortable being naked with you." Andie explains. "You're the first person to see me naked." She kisses his chin.

"Your parents were the first people to see you naked." Nicky chuckles.

"They saw me naked when I was a baby and a kid but they haven't seen me like this. You know since I hit puberty."

Nicky chuckles again."That would be a little weird if they did."

"I guess I just feel so connected to you now that you've seen me naked." She kisses his chest again.

"I'm glad I was the first one." He kisses the top of her head. "It's a special moment for you. You're special."

"I love you, Nicky." She tells him. She's not shy or bashful about it. It just feels right.

"I love you too, Belle." They close there eyes to recharge and in a few minutes they're both sleeping. About an hour later they both wake up to the sound of a blood curdling scream. They jolt up in bed and look up to see Nicky's mother Leslie standing in the doorway of his room. She drops her basket of laundry on the floor. "Agggghhhh! She screams out loud.

Nicky pulls the blanket up to cover them. "Ma, did you ever hear of knocking?"

"Oh my God!" Leslie covers her mouth and stares at Andie. "Do you know what you two just did?" She screams at them. "I can't believe what you just did!"

"I'm nineteen ma, It's not my first time." Nicky's annoyed.

"You can't sleep with her! She has to leave!" Leslie screams at them.

Andie pulls the blanket over her head and hides.

"She has to leave right now!" Leslie tells Nicky.

"Well, can you leave the room so she can get dressed?" Nicky says to his mother.

"She better get dressed and leave now! You better not do it again! Ever again!"

"We're just going to get dressed, ma. Now can you leave us alone please?"

"Meet me in the living room in five minutes. We need to talk." Leslie tells her son before leaving his room and closing the door.

"I'm so sorry." Nicky tells Andie as he gets out of bed and finds his clothes.

"Look at me, I'm shaking. I can't even hook my bra." Andie tells him as she tries to get dressed. Nicky comes over to hook her bra for her. He helps her slip back into the red dress.

Nicky tells her, "I'll text you as soon as I talk to my mom. I don't know what my mother's problem is, I'm nineteen years old."

"She hates my father so I guess she hates me too." Andie says

"That just ain't right and I'm going to tell her so." Nicky gives Andie a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Her beef is with your father. It has nothing to do with us."

Andie runs out the door barefoot forgetting her shoes.

Nicky stalks into the living room. "What the hell was that all about, ma? I'm not a little kid. I'm nineteen."

"You can't sleep with Andie Freedman!" His mother orders him while handing him a folder with papers in it.

"Just cuz you hate Cooper Freedman, you don't need to hate his daughter!"

"Read those papers Nicky. You can't sleep with Andie because she's your cousin. Cooper Freedman is my twin brother."

"What?" Nicky says in disbelief.

"Read the papers. I found out when I searched for my biological family when you were a kid."

Nicky looks over the papers." Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Because if you knew Cooper Freedman was your uncle you'd be over there every day and you know how I feel about that man. He called Social Service on us."

"Because dad was beating us." Nicky throws the papers back at his mother. He rubs his hands over his head. "Oh God, I just slept with my cousin. I think I'm going to be sick." He turns to leave.

"Where are you going, Nicky?"

"I don't know." Nicky walks out of the house slamming the door behind him. He gets in his car, lights up a cigarette and looks for the closest bar he could find.

Andie sneaks into her room without anyone seeing her. She takes a shower, changes into her pj's and waits for Nicky to text like he said he would. When she doesn't hear from him after awhile she texts him.

"I miss u"

He texts back "we can't c each other again."

She texts back "y"

He texts "just cant, bye"

She grabs the white Teddy Bear he gave her and gets under the covers. She cries for a good hour before she falls asleep.


	12. Chapter 12 The Next Morning

**_Chapter 12 - The Morning After_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks by Andie's bedroom. "Time for breakfast, Sweet Pea."<p>

"I'm not hungry." Andie calls out from underneath her covers.

Charlotte walks in her bedroom. "Are you sick? I could have daddy check you out."

"I'm not sick. I'm just not hungry." Andie talks from under her covers.

"It's Sunday, Andie. Daddy's making a big breakfast."

"I'm not hungry!"

"Fine." Charlotte walks away and goes downstairs to the kitchen.

"Where's Andie?" Cooper asks.

"Apparently, she's not hungry."

"Is she sick?"

"She says that she's just not hungry."

"But it's Sunday morning. We always eat together as a family on Sunday mornings."

"Not today." Charlotte quirks an eyebrow up at him.

"I made her favorite; crepes with nutella in them. I even cut up strawberries and banana's to put on top."

"I'll eat them." Charlotte grabs plate.

"Is this how it's going to be for now on?" Cooper complains. "We let the kids set the rules?"

"She's almost seventeen, Coop. Cut her some slack."

Noah jumps in the conversation. "She's not seventeen yet. Her birthday's in two weeks."

"Close enough." Charlotte messes up Noah's blonde hair.

"She's probably upset because Tyler and Danielle are dating." Chase tells them as he grabs a crepe.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Charlotte scowls.

"It's true." Cooper nods. "Andie and I saw them kissing in the park yesterday."

"No wonder the poor thing's upset." Charlotte frowns and takes a seat next to Drew. "How are you doin', Squirt?"

Drew looks at his momma before coughing and then vomiting on his breakfast plate. He turns to look at Charlotte again and vomits on her lap. Charlotte screams "Aghhh!" She jumps up out of her seat. "Someone clean up Drew. I need a shower." Charlotte rushes upstairs.

Drew vomits again on the floor this time.

"Oh... that's nasty." Noah covers his mouth and runs out the back door.

Cooper asks Chase. "Can you clean Drew up while I clean up this mess?" Cooper surveys at all the vomit.

"Sorry, dad. He's your kid." Chase runs out the back door.

Drew starts to cry.

"It's okay, buddy. You need a bath." Cooper brings Drew upstairs to the hall bath tub and washes him. About a half hour later, Cooper walks back in the kitchen to find Charlotte cleaning up.

"How's Drew?" She asks.

"I gave him a bath. He's resting on the couch now. I think it's the stomach flu."

"Great! We'll all have it soon." Charlotte says sarcatically.

"I hope not." Cooper wipes off the table.

"Where are the boys?" Charlotte asks.

"They ran at the sight of vomit."

"I guess we shouldn't count on either of them to be doctors." Charlotte laughs.

"We can still count on Andie Candy."

"Poor thing has her first broken heart. I should go talk to her." Charlotte sighs.

"That'd be good." Cooper agrees.

"What should I say?" Charlotte searches Cooper's eyes.

"Tell her about your first broken heart."

Charlotte sighs. "You know I hate to talk about that stuff."

"She's your daughter, Chief. She needs you."

"Fine." Charlotte puts the washcloth down and marches up to Andie's room. Charlotte sits on her bed. "I heard what happened, Sweet Pea. I'm sorry."

Andie pokes her head out from under the covers. She's hugging a white Teddy Bear, her eyes are red from crying. "What did you hear?"

"That Danielle is dating Tyler. I'm so sorry, Sweet Pea."

"It's okay, momma. I'm not upset about Tyler."

"Then, why are you crying?"

"I'm not." Andie wipes her eyes. "I have allergies."

Charlotte nods. "There will be more boys, Andie. Don't worry about Tyler."

"I know."

"I had my heart broke more times than I care to remember."

"You?" Andie asks "But, you're so beautiful, momma. Who would break your heart?"

"I had a gift for picking the wrong guys. I always ended up with a broken heart."

"Is that what happened with your first marriage?"

"Yep," Charlotte nods. "I fell in love with a guy who couldn't love me back, the way I wanted anyhow, turns out Billy was gay. He tried to fight it and I got caught up in the middle. I got my heart broken but I got over it, eventually."

"It's really hard to say goodbye if you love them." Andie wipes a tear from her face.

"It'll get better, Sweet Pea. Remember, it's always the darkest before the dawn."

"Thanks, momma."

"You might want to stay in your room today, anyway." Charlotte tells her.

"Why?"

"Seems, Drew has a stomach virus. He threw up on the table and all over me at breakfast this morning."

"Yuck! I'm glad I didn't come down for breakfast."

Charlotte laughs. "I'm sure Chase and Noah wish they skipped breakfast this mornin' too." Charlotte gets up to leave.

"Thanks, momma."

"Anytime, Sweet Pea."

Andie texts Nicky again but he still doesn't answer. She hugs the Teddy Bear he gave her and pulls the covers back over her head.


	13. Chapter 13 Waiting for Dawn

**_CHAPTER 13-Waiting For the Dawn_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks in the conference room at the practice. Addison's already there preparing for the morning meeting. "How are you, Charlotte?" Addison looks up.<p>

"I'm fine but my daughter's home crying her eyes out because her best friend is dating her boyfriend."

Addison defends Danielle. "Andie broke up with Tyler. That makes him her ex boyfriend and free game for Danielle to date."

"Oh, I see." Charlotte quirks an eyebrow. "Like mother, like daughter."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're with your best friends ex. Did you tell Danielle it was okay to date Tyler?"

"As a matter of fact I did." Addison says firmly. "Danielle told me Andie asked her to wait a week to ask Tyler out, in case Andie changed her mind. I told Danielle that was ridiculous. Andie broke up with Tyler; he's free game."

"Well, I hope you're happy because Andie was so upset she didn't even go to school today."

"You let her stay home, Charlotte?"

"She wouldn't be able to focus at school today in the state she's in."

"Andie's that upset?" Addison asks.

"Yep. Thanks to her BFF."

"Maybe Andie should talk to Violet or Sheldon if she's that upset over it."

"My daughter does not need a shrink."

Violet and Pete stroll in the conference room. "Who needs a shrink?" Violet asks.

"Never mind." Charlotte sits down.

Violet sits next to Charlotte. "So Addison, how is Danielle handling it that Lucas broke up with her?"

Charlotte answers before Addison has a chance. "Danielle's handling it fine. She's moved on to dating Tyler now."

"But Tyler's dating Andie?" Violet looks confused.

Addison answers. "Andie broke up with Tyler, so now he's dating Danielle."

Jolie walks in for the meeting. "Tyler's proving to be a ladies man, just like his father used to be."

Cooper walks in with Amelia and Sam. Cooper says is a sing song voice. "That's why I'm so glad... I'm not ...a teen...ager... in love."

"Is that supposed to be singing?" Sam asks.

Amelia laughs. "Sounds like an ancient song."

"Hey!" Cooper complains. "I'm not that much older than you."

"Alright, are we all here now?" Addison looks around the room. "Where's Sheldon?"

"He's not coming in today. Dylan has a cough and a fever. We kept him home from school. Sheldon's home with him."

"How long has Dylan been sick?" Cooper asks.

"He's been trying to shake off this cough for about two weeks. The weird thing is Sara hasn't caught it yet, which surprises me."

"He sounded junky when he was with us last weekend. I told Cole he needed a chest x-ray." Jolie adds. "Didn't Cole tell you?"

Amelia huffs. "Yes, Cole told us you reccomended an x-ray but kids get sick. We decided to give it a few more days." Amelia sips her coffee.

"Do you want me to take a look at him?" Cooper asks.

"I think you should." Jolie nods.

"I'm his mother." Amelia glares at Jolie.

"And I'm his stepmother." Jolie responds. "I'm also a doctor and Dylan needs an x-ray. I would have ordered an x-ray on any one of my patients if their lungs sounded as junky as his did last weekend."

"So, why didn't you take him for one?" Amelia shrugs.

"Because I didn't want to step on your toes." Jolie responds. "I told Cole to tell you to take him, obvioulsy you didn't."

Cooper jumps in. "Why do't I just take a listen to him and I'll decide if he needs a chest x-ray."

"Okay." Amelia sighs.

"Tell Sheldon to bring Dylan in today. I'll squeeze him in."

"Cool beans." Amelia says. "I'll call Sheldon now."

Addison sighs. "I was hoping we could get this meeting started sooner than later."

* * *

><p>After the meeting's over Sheldon's waiting in Cooper's office with Dylan. "That was quick." Cooper smiles ad Dylan as he walks in his office.<p>

"I don't believe in putting things off." Sheldon stands up.

Cooper looks at Dylan who's almost thirteen. "How are you feeling, big guy?"

"Not great." Dylan answers.

Cooper examines Dylan. "What seems to be troubling you?"

"Mostly this cough and I get tired a lot."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Two weeks, I guess." Dylan answers.

"You look a little pale." Cooper listens to Dylan's lungs. "He sounds junky and has a wheeze." Cooper tells Sheldon. "I'm going to give him a nebulizer treatment before you leave and a prescription for a bronchodilator. I also want him to have a chest x-ray and some blood drawn this morning."

"What's wrong with him?" Sheldon asks.

"Could be bronchitis. I won't know until I get the results of his blood work and the x-ray." Cooper sets Dylan up for a respiratory treatment. "Hang in there, dude." Cooper tells Dylan. "I'll have you all fixed up soon." Dylan nods.

* * *

><p>Danielle calls Andie on the phone. "I heard you stayed home from school today cuz you were crying over me and Tyler?"<p>

"Where'd you hear that?" Andie asks.

"My mom called and told me."

"Which means my momma told her." Andie sighs, holding her Teddy Bear.

"I'm sorry I didn't wait the week, like we said." Danielle apologizes. "My mom said that was a ridiculous deal we made."

"I wasn't crying over you and Tyer." Andie tells her.

"Let me guess, you were crying because of something Nicky did?"

"Yes."

"What did he do?" Danielle asks.

"I slept with him Saturday and I haven't heard from him since."

"That creep!" Danielle exclaims.

"No. He's not a creep. It's his mother, she hates me." Andie explains.

"Huh?"

"He was really good with me. He was amazing and gentle."

"So, what happened?"

"His mother walked in the room and started screaming at us. She told him he can't see me again."

"Why?"

"She hates my family." Andie tells Danielle.

"But, if Nicky's a man, like you say he is, why is he listening to his mother?"

"I don't get it." Andie tells her. "He told me he thought his mother was being ridiculous. He was going to tell her he didn't care about her feud with my parents, that he loved me anyway."

"And?"

"He texted me saying he couldn't see me again after he spoke to his mother. That's it. I haven't heard from him since."

"And you're just giving up?" Danielle asks.

"He won't answer my calls or my texts. What am I supposed to do?" Andie asks.

"Go to his work and talk to him."

"I don't have a car." Andie says sarcastically, "what am I going to do, ask my momma or daddy to drive me up to Nicky's work to ask why I haven't heard from him since I gave it up to him?"

"I'll drive you there." Danielle tells her.

"When?"

"Tomorrow, after school."

"I think I love you." Andie smiles into the phone.

"So, we're good then?" Danielle asks. "You're not mad at me about Tyler."

"No. I'm more worried about why Nicky won't talk to me."

"We'll find out tomorrow. I'll be at your house after school. Be ready."

"I will be." Andie hangs up.

* * *

><p>Cooper calls Sheldon and Amelia to both meet him in his office. Sheldon's already there waiting when Amelia walks in. "Okay, Cooper, now you're scaring me. Why did you call both Sheldon and I in?"<p>

"I got the results of Dylan's blood work and chest x-ray." Cooper tells them softly.

"And?" Sheldon asks.

Cooper shows them the x-ray. "Dylan has swollen lymph nodes in his lungs. That's why he can't shake the cough."

"What's that from?" Amelia asks with fear in her voice.

"Combined with the results of the blood work, my educated guess is that Dylan has cancer, probably leukemia. I'll need to admit him to the hospital and do further tests to find out exactly which kind. I already notified the pediatric oncologist."

"Oh my God!" Amelia looks at Sheldon.

"It's okay, Amelia." Sheldon hugs her. "We'll get through it."

Amelia start to cry. "My poor baby boy."

"You need to stay strong for Dylan, Amelia." Sheldon tells her. "He can't see you like this or he'll be scared."

"Oh my God." Amelia says. "I have to call Cole and tell him."

"Sit down. I'll do it." Sheldon tells her.

"Sara's going to be so upset to find out her big brother's sick." Amelia wipes her eyes. "Dylan's her hero."

"I'm sorry, Amelia, I wish I had better news." Cooper has tears in his eyes.

* * *

><p>Cooper walks in the front door. "How was your day?" Charlotte asks.<p>

"Not good." Cooper tells her. "I had to tell a family their son has cancer today."

Charlotte sighs. "That's never going to get easier, is it?"

Cooper looks at Charlotte. "It's Dylan. I had to tell Amelia and Sheldon that Dylan has cancer. I just admitted him to the hospital. The pediatric oncologist is running tests now to see what kind of cancer it is."

Charlotte hugs Cooper. After they break the hug, Charlotte tells Cooper. "I can't help thinking about when Amelia told me she was pregnant with Dylan and then I had the miscarriage."

Cooper nods.

"Thinking back, going through the miscarriage was small potatoes compared to what Amelia's going to be going through now."

"Let's hope he can beat this." Cooper takes a deep breath. "We're going to have to tell the kids."

"I think we should wait until we find out exactly what's going on." Charlotte suggests.

Andie bounces down the steps with her white Teddy Bear. "What's for dinner tonight?" She asks her parents.

Charlotte looks up. "I think we'll order take out tonight. What are you in the mood for? Pizza or Chinese?"

"I'm starving. I'll eat anything." Andie flicks on the TV.

"You seem a lot happier than when I left you this morning." Charlotte tells her.

"I am."

"Did you talk to Danielle today?" Charlotte asks.

"I did and we're good. I'm going out with her after school tomorrow."

"Where are you girls going?" Cooper asks.

"Probably just the mall." Andie lies.

Cooper follows Charlotte into the kitchen to look for the take out menu. "We're lucky to have such great kids." He tells her.

"I know." She smiles


	14. Chapter 14  Lean On Me

**CHAPTER 14 - LEAN ON ME**

* * *

><p>Amelia walks into the morning meeting late. "I'm here," Her eyes are red and teary.<p>

"I'm sorry we started without you, Amelia." Addison tells her. "We just assumed you weren't coming in today."

"Sheldon and I want to keep things as normal as possible." Amelia tells them all. "But, it's safe to say Sheldon will be retiring. We found out that Dylan has Hodgkin's Disease. Sheldon's going to stay home with him. Dylan's going to need chemo."

"I'm so sorry." Charlotte tells her.

"Me too, Amelia." Sam nods his head and adds. "If you need anything at all."

"You know, Cole and I are here for Dylan too." Jolie tells her "If you need me or Cole to stay with him during his chemo, we'll be there."

"It's okay." Amelia sighs. "Sheldon and I have it covered. Hodgkin's disease has a good prognosis and we were lucky we caught it early. He's stage two, which is good." Amelia looks at Cooper. "Thank you for catching it so early. I wasn't planning to take him to see you yet."

Cooper nods. "I'm just glad we caught it early. He should do fine if he's only stage two, Amelia. He has an excellent prognosis."

Amelia nods. "That's what the pediatric oncologist told us. He's starting the chemo today so I'll have to leave early."

Addison nods her head. "Whatever you need." She tells her before starting the morning meeting.

* * *

><p>Danielle picks Andie up after school. Andie's wearing a short, tight black dress and has on more makeup than normal. "Wow, you look hot." Danielle tells Andie as she hops in the car.<p>

"Thanks, but I'm trying to impress Nicky, not you." Andie laughs. They drive towards the construction site where Nicky's works during the day.

"Do you feel different now that you've done the deed?" Danielle asks. "Was it as good as everyone says?"

"It was better." Andie smacks her lips together into a tight smile.

"Really?" Danielle's eyes light up eager to hear more.

Andie raises both eyebrows up and nods her head. "Really."

"Do you feel any different?"

"I don't know" Andie shrugs. "I guess I feel closer to being an adult now and less like a kid and my legs are sore."

"Really? Your legs are sore?"

"I'm not used to using those leg muscles."

Danielle wonders. "The leg soreness must go away after you do it a few times. I don't notice my mom walking funny after she's done the deed with Sam."

Andie agrees. "Yeah, you have to get used to it, I guess. The next morning when I tried to walk, I felt like I just got off a horse."

Danielle laughs. "Thanks for warning me. I'll have to go horseback riding first to strenthen my muscles before I do it with Tyler."

"You're gonna screw Tyler?"

"I'm sure Lucas is gonna be screwing at Yale. Those are college girls." Danielle tells her.

Andie shrugs. "I'm sure Tyler will be happy."

Danielle pulls up to the construction site, they both get out of the car. Danielle waits by her car while Andie walks through the dirt in her heels to find Nicky. The construction workers turn their heads to look at Andie. Some whistle.

Nicky notices and walks over to her. "What are you doing here?" He looks around at his coworkers who are checking Andie out in her tight, short dress. "You shouldn't have come here," he tells her.

"You won't answer my texts, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I answered your text. I told you I can't see you anymore."

"But why?" Andie asks.

"I just can't." Nicky starts to walk away.

Andie grabs his arm. "That's not good enough. Tell me why."

"You know why. My mother hates your family." Nicky tells her firmly as he grabs his arm away from her.

"Are you kidding me?" Andie scoffs with her heels planted in the dirt. "I thought you were a man? You're going to listen to your mommy because she hates my family?"

"Just leave it alone, Andie."

"I screwed with you. I'm not going to walk away like nothing happened."

"Well, I am." Nicky turns around and walks off back to work.

"Nicky?" Andie calls out. "Nicky?"

The other construction workers start calling out. "Nicky, don't leave me!" They use girly voices and they laugh. Andie looks at them and jumps back in Danielle's car. "That was humiliating," she tells Danielle

"Maybe you should forget about Nicky, he's a jerk."

"He's not, Danielle. Something's going on with him. He was so patient and gentle with me when we had sex. He even told me he loved me."

"Some dudes are smooth talkers until you let them bang you. Then, they dump you like yesterday's trash."

"Nicky wouldn't do that to me."

"Nicky _is_ doing that to you, Andie."

"Everything was great before his mother started screaming. I want to know what his mother said to make him hate me."

"I don't think he hates you." Danielle says.

"She must have said something to change his mind about me."

"So, ask him."

"You saw what just happened. I'm not going back there." Andie holds her arms tight against her chest.

"You need to get him alone. Talk to him face to face, just the two of you."

"How am I gonna do that?"

"You live next door. Look out the window and wait for his mother to leave. Then, go over there and talk to him."

"I guess it's the only thing left to do." Andie shrugs.

* * *

><p>Cooper's leaving work with Chase and Noah. "What is it bring your son to work day?" Pete asks.<p>

"No. Charlotte dropped the boys off with me after school. I'm taking them golfing. I figured I should spend some quality time with my boys considering all that's going on with Dylan."

"Wish I could go with you." Pete says.

"So, meet us there."

"Violet has to work late and Lucas is away checking out Yale. I can't leave Lila home alone too long."

"So, bring her along. She can play with us."

"You know, I think I will." Pete picks up his keys to leave. "Which golf course will you be at?"

"The usual." Cooper tells him.

"I'll pick up Lila and my clubs and meet you there." Pete hurries off.

"Why'd you do that?" Noah asks Cooper.

"Do what?"

"You told him to bring Lila. I don't want to play with a girl. I'd rather play with Dylan or Cole jr."

"I explained to you that Dylan's sick. He won't be able to play golf for a while and I asked Cole but he's taking Cole jr and Marley up to the hospital to visit Dylan now."

"When can we visit Dylan?" Noah asks.

"Maybe tomorrow. Let's give him a day with just his family before we all go up there and bombard him." Cooper suggests. "For now, let's play some golf."

"With a girl." Thirteen year old Noah gripes.

"Lila's a cool girl." Chase tells him. "She'll probably beat your score."

"She will not!" Noah snaps.

Chase teases. "That's what you're afraid of isn't it? You're afraid Lila will beat your score and make you look bad."

"Am not!"

"You like Lila, don't you?" Chase teases his brother. "Noah... has... a.. crush ...on... Lila." Chase sings.

Noah turns around and smacks Chase hard on the shoulder. "Knock it off!"

"Ha! You do have a crush on Lila. That's why you're getting so upset."

"Quit it!" Noah smacks Chase again. This time Chase pushes Noah away. Noah pushes Chase back.

"That's enough!" Cooper yells at his boys and gets in between them. "Knock it off now, both of you, or I'll tell your momma."

The boys get quiet and follow Cooper out of the building. Cooper smiles and thinks to himself- _Threatening to tell Charlotte still works everytime._ Cooper smirks.

* * *

><p>Review's are nice! =)<p> 


	15. Chapter 15 Office Chat

_**CHAPTER 15 - OFFICE CHAT**_

* * *

><p>Sheldon strolls into the break room with Alexis and announces to everyone. "Since I'm officially retired now I'm showing Alexis the ropes."<p>

"You'll do great Alexis." Addison looks up from her lunch and smiles.

Amelia announces. "Alexis's first patient is going to be Dylan. Sheldon and I want him to talk to someone objective about his cancer."

"Yes" Sheldon nods. "Kids Dylan's age don't want to admit to their parents that they're scared or hurting."

Cooper gets up for more coffee and nods. "It's important to keep the lines of communication open with your kids."

Charlotte looks at Cooper, she wonders how well her own children are keeping the lines of communication open.

Cooper pats Sheldon on the back hard. "Should we throw you a retirement party?"

"No parties until Dylan's healthy." Amelia tells them. "After Dylan gets a clean bill of health we can celebrate."

Alexis excuses herself. "I have to go. Dylan's waiting in my new office."

Alexis, the new young psychiatrist is excited to treat her first official patient. "Hello Dylan." Alexis greets the thirteen year old boy.

"Hey." Dylan leans back on the couch. "This couch is comfortable."

Alexis sits behind her desk, well really Sheldon's desk. "Glad you like it, Dylan. Let's start out talking about school. Do you miss it since you've been home sick?"

"No. My mom hired me a tutor. I like staying home." Dylan shrugs.

"Don't you miss your friends at school?"

"Not really. Noah and Lila come over to visit."

"What about Cole jr and Marley?"

"They come over a lot but they're not my friends they're my half brother and sister."

"They can still be your friends."

"They're too perfect to be my friends."

"Why do you think Cole jr and Marley are perfect?"

"They always get A's and they're popular."

"How are your grades?"

"Mostly B's and C's but now that I have a tutor my mom said they should go up." Dylan shrugs.

"Aren't you popular?"

"Popular kids are lame."

"I see. How do you get along with your father?" Alexis asks.

"Which one? My step father or my real father?

"Tell me about your relationship with both."

"When I see my dad, Cole jr and Marley are always around so it's annoying. It's easier with Sheldon, but Sheldon's Sheldon, you know?"

"What to you mean by Sheldon's, Sheldon?"

"He's always trying to analyze me and tell me what to do." Dylan shrugs. "It gets annoying."

Alexis nods. "Job hazard," she says before changing the subject. "I hear your little sister thinks you're her hero?"

"That's because she's five and I'm almost thirteen. She thinks I'm smart. When she's older she'll know better."

"Hmmm.?" Alexis writes something down in the chart. "Why do you say that?"

"When I was five I thought my parents were smart and knew everything now I know more than them."

"How's your relationship with Sara compared to Cole jr and Marley?"

"Cole jr and Marely are my dad's kids with Jolie and Sara is Sheldon's kid with my mom so they're all my half siblings. I consider them all equal."

"Are are you closer to Sara because you live with her?"

"I don't know. I stay with Cole jr and Marley every weekend at my dad's house and I saw them every day at school before I got sick."

"So you don't like one better than the other?" Alexis asks.

"If you're asking if I'm jealous of one more than the other; the answer is no. "My dad prefers Cole jr and Marley because they're his kids with his wife. Sheldon prefers Sara over me cuz she's his real daughter. He named her Sara after his mother."

"I see."

"Look." Dylan points at the clock. "Time's up, gotta go. Nice to know ya." He grabs his jacket and meets Amelia and Sheldon in the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Marisa comes in Alexis office a few hours later. "So, how was it seeing your very first patient on your own?"<p>

"His parents have no clue, mom."

"What do you mean?"

"They sent him to talk to me about his illness but that never came up. He has so many other issues and they have no clue."

Marisa puts her arm around Alexis. "I hope you can help him."

"I'm going to make it my mission." Alexis looks at the chart.

"A lot of parents don't know what's going on in their kids minds." Marisa tells Alexis. Charlotte walks by and hears. "Do your kids tell you everything, Charlotte?" Marisa asks.

Charlotte stops and thinks. "Drew will tell me everything down to which pair of underwear he's wearing and which teacher farted in school that day. "

Marisa and Alexis laugh.

Charlotte continues."The older ones are pretty good about talkin' and expressin'. They take after Cooper because I was never good at that stuff."

"Well, consider yourself lucky that your kids are all so forthcoming because most aren't." Marisa pats Charlotte on the back. Charlotte wonders if she really knows what's going on in Andie's mind. She takes a deep breath and scrunches her face in a twisted kind of smile.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN- I had to cut this chapter in two parts because it was too long. In the next chapter, Andie confronts Nicky alone. Charlotte learns the truth about who Nicky and Leslie are. Uh..Oh!**_


	16. Chapter 16  The Truth  The Fight

**_CHAPTER 16 THE TRUTH - THE FIGHT_**

* * *

><p>Chase comes home from basketball practice. "You look like a stalker," he tells his sister who's standing on the front lawn watching Nicky's front door.<p>

"I do not!" Andie snaps defensively, standing on the grass with her arms folded against her chest.

"You're staring at Nicky's house waiting for him to come out." Chase accuses.

"Am not!" Andie insists.

"Then, why are you watching his front door?"

"I'm waiting for his mother to come out." Andie says in a quiet voice with her arms still folded.

"You're stalking Nicky's mother?" Chase wrinkles his brow.

"I'm waiting for her to leave so I can ask Nicky a question. That's all."

"You're a strange one." Chase walks up to his own front door. "Have fun being a stalker!" He calls out to his sister before he opens the door to go inside.

"The hell with this." Andie says to herself, tired of standing there waiting for his mother !o leave. "I don't care if his mother hears what I have to say. This is all her fault anyway." Andie stalks over to Nicky's front door and rings the bell.

Thirteen year old Suzie answers. "Hi Andie."

"Hi, Suzie. I need to talk to Nicky." Andie looks through the partly opened doorway for him.

"Come in." Suzie leads Andie to the kitchen where Nicky's finishing dinner with his mother.

Nicky drops his fork. "What are you doing here?"

Andie looks him in the eye. "We need to talk."

Leslie gets up from the table. "You have five minutes to talk to my son and then I'll be back to show you out." Leslie turns to face Nicky before she leaves "You better not tell her anything I said to you." Leslie warns Nicky before walking upstairs with Suzie.

Andie gets straight to the point. She folds her arms across her chest. "You need to tell me why you won't see me."

"I already told you because of my mother." Nicky gets up from the table.

"Why does it matter what she thinks?"

Nicky insists. "You need to stay as far away from me as you can get."

Andie stomps her foot on the floor and folds her arms tighter against her chest, clearly frustated by his answer or lack of an answer. "You say Tyler's a boy and you're a man?" Andie accuses him. "You're just a little boy who has sex and is afraid of his mommy!"

Nicky grimaces at the accusation but tries to keep his composure. "You need to leave now, Andie, before you end up regretting it."

Andie stands with her arms still folded. "I'm not leaving until you give me an answer."

"Leave now, Andie!" He points to the way out.

They hear a noise and Tyler looks back to see if his mother's listening.

"What's the matter?" Andie scoffs. "Are you afraid your mommy might hear us? You really _are_ a little boy." Andie accuses. "You never were a man. Tyler's the real man. You have sex so you think you're a man; but you're not...-you're a little boy who likes to have sex." She taunts him. She wants to get a rise out of him, maybe then he'll tell her the reason.

It's working. Nicky points his finger in her face. "I was going to take it easy on you, you rich little spoiled brat," he continues to point at her. "Think how easy it was for me to get your clothes off." He switches his voice and does his best impression of her voice, imitating what she said to him before they had sex. _"Oh, Nicky, I want you for my birthday present."_ He continues to imitate her voice. "_I've wanted you for a long time."_

Andie drops open her mouth in disbelief. She can't believe the Nicky she knows and loves is doing this.

He talks in his normal voice again. "You were ripe and I picked the fruit." Nicky turns around to leave her alone in the kitchen. Andie grabs his arm to stop him.

"We're not done." Andie tells him. "I'm not afraid of you!"

Nicky tells her in a casual voice. "Nothing to be afraid of. I'm very gentle, aren't I? Especially with the virgins."

Andie squints her eyes and glares at him, she talks fast and firm. "You were a smooth talker. You told me everything I wanted to hear and I fell for it. I should have listened to my father and stayed away from you."

Nicky shrugs. "Guess you should have listened to your crazy father."

"Shut your mouth!" Andie yells at him.

"You broke up with Tyler because you wanted me. Did I satisfy your itch?"

Andie quicky lifts her right hand up to slap him. Nicky grabs her arm and holds it in the air with a tight grip on it. "You wanna hit me?" Nicky yells. "You wanna hit me? Go ahead but I will hit you back twice as hard!" Nicky lets go of her arm forcefully. Andie loses her balance and falls on the floor.

Andie looks up at him with a fierceness in her eyes. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"

"Welcome to my world, Andie." Nicky kneels down on the floor next to her. He grabs her arm and looks at her charm bracelet. "You're still wearing the charm bracelet I gave you. Isn't that sweet?" He mocks.

Andie tries to stand up. "Get your hands off me. I need to take a shower to wash you off me."

Nicky lets go of her. "You can't wash me off. I already left my mark on you. I was your first. You'll never forget me."

Andie turns and stalks out the front door. Nicky turns around to see his mother standing in the hallway; her eyes are wide and her mouth is gaped open, she's staring at her son.

"How much did you hear?" Nicky asks.

"Enough to make me sick." Leslie scowls.

"I did it for you ma." Nicky snarls as his mother. "I didn't give away your secret; are you happy?"

Leslie swallows. She appears to be shook up but answers. "Thank you for not telling her Cooper is my brother."

"I didn't tell her that but I said her a lot of other stuff to her; ugly, cruel stuff."

Leslie nods. "I heard most of it. You were both yelling."

Nicky's stares down his mother with fierce eyes "Was I cruel enough to her for you, ma?" Nicky asks sarcastically. "Are you happy now, ma? Did I hurt Andie enough so she'll never want to see me again?"

Leslie folds her arms and looks at the floor.

"I told her everything I could think of to push her away without telling her your little secret!"

"Shhh. Your sister is upstairs." Leslie tries to hush him.

"I hope you're happy, ma!" Nicky doesn't care about hushing up. He continues to shout at his mother. "Andie hates me, now!" Nicky's voice starts to break. He covers his eyes with his hand to hide any loose tears from his mother. He's a twenty year old man. He shouldn't be crying, he thinks for a minute, Andie might be right about him being a little mommy's boy and not a man.

"I'm sorry, Nicky but you sounded just like your father. It was like listening to your father yell at me all over again."

"That's your fault, ma. You should have listened to your brother, Cooper Freedman, and kept dad away from me. Dad used to kick me around like a soccer ball."

"I'm sorry, Nicky, but he was the only family we had."

"We could have had Cooper and his family in our lives."

"I couldn't leave your father. Cooper was poking his nose in our business too much back then."

Nicky wipes his eyes. "Dad would tell me it wasn't punishment, that it was a tough world out there and he needed to teach me how to survive in it. How am I doing, ma?"

"Your dad taught you well." Leslie answers sarcastically.

"I hope you're happy how it all turned out, ma. Are you happy? Huh? I had to hurt Andie or should I say my cousin? Are you happy she's probably crying her eyes out now? Are you happy I made her hate me?"

"I'm not happy!" Leslie yells at him in frustration. "This is a no win situation, Nicky."

Nicky leaves the room.

"Where are you going?" Leslie asks, following her son.

"None of your business!" Nicky storms out the front door slamming it behind him. He hops in his car and looks for a bar.

Leslie gathers up the papers from her lawyer and rings the Freeman's doorbell. Charlotte's surprised to see her neighbor who she hasn't spoken to in almost a decade standing there.

"Is Cooper home?"

"No," Charlotte answers, "he had to work late."

"Is Andie home?"

"Nope." Charlotte shrugs. "She's not here either."

"Then, I'll talk to you." Leslie walks in the house carrying her stack of legal papers.

"About what?" Charlotte looks at the stack of papers in her arms.

"Andie and Nicky slept together." Leslie deadpans. "I found them in his bed one night."

Charlotte takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Okay?"

"I told Nicky he had to stay away from Andie but she won't leave him alone. She shows up at his work. She was just at my house."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. She had no idea any of this was going on. She thinks her daughter has turned out to be a lot like her, not sharin' or expressin' her problems.

Leslie tells Charlotte in a calm yet firm tone. "I don't know if Nicky will be able to push her away if she comes back again. You need to keep her away from him."

Charlotte explains to Leslie. "I don't like that they're having sex either but Nicky's twenty and Andie's almost seventeen, I don't know that we can keep them apart."

"They can't have sex!" Leslie shouts at Charlotte.

"Why not?" Charlotte screws up her face. "Why are you so against it?"

"Because they're cousins." Leslie hands Charlotte the stack of papers. Leslie explains "My birth mother gave my twin brother up for adoption to Marvin and Mary freedman of Akron, Ohio. Cooper is my brother."

Charlotte glances over the papers. "How long have you known this?"

"A long time."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"That's water under the bridge. Just keep your daughter away from my son." Leslie turns to walk away. "You can keep the paper work. I have another copy at home." Leslie goes back home.

Charlotte sits down and reads through all the papers while she waits for Andie to come home.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN- Next Chapter- Andie's going to find out the real reason Nicky doesn't want to see her. Cooper finds out too. How will they each react to the news? Tune in tomorrow for Chapter 17! =)_**


	17. Chapter 17  Andie and Charlotte

**_CHAPTER 17 - CHARLOTTE and ANDIE_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte decides not to say anything to Cooper until after she talks to Andie. It's midnight, Cooper and the boys are all asleep upstairs. Charlotte waits up for Andie to come home. Andie finally walks in the door. "It's midnight, past your curfew." Charlotte tells her.<p>

"Danielle was driving. I had to come home when she was ready to drive me."

"You didn't go see Nicky did you?"

"No," Andie looks at Charlotte suspiciously. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because his mother was here. She told me you guys were having sex and that she wanted you to stay away from Nicky."

"That bitch!" Andie snarls. "I had sex with him one time, momma, and we used a condom."

"It's okay, Andie." Charlotte hugs her.

Andie starts to cry. "He was so mean to me today, momma. I don't understand why. He was so nice to me before."

"He didn't mean any of it." Charlotte rubs Andie's back while still hugging her. "He wanted to hurt you so you wouldn't come back, Sweet Pea."

"But why, momma. I love him." Andie cries.

Charlotte hugs Andie tight. "You can't love him, Sweet Pea, and you can't have sex with him again."

"Why? I'm old enough to love someone. I'm old enough to have sex."

"Andie, I would support any relationship you were in as long as the guy was kind to you."

"Nicky was kind to me until his mother had to interfere."

"His mother has her reasons." Charlotte sighs.

"What are they, momma? Did she tell you why she won't let us see each other?"

Charlotte hesitates, takes a breath and lets it out. "Because you and Nicky are cousins."

And scrunches up her face and stares at Charlotte. "What?"

Charlotte tells her. "I know this is hard to believe. You're only seventeen." Charlotte hands Andie the paperwork. Andie looks it over and runs for the door. Charlotte grabs her arm. "Where are you going? It's after midnight."

Andie cries. "I don't believe those papers. You and Leslie made them up to keep me away from Nicky."

"No. I'm telling the truth." Charlotte hugs her daughter again.

Andie cries while Charlotte hugs her tight. "You think because I lost my virginity, I'm going to be the kind of whore you were. I know you met dad on an internet sex sight."

"Stop Andie." Charlotte tells her daughter firmly.

Andie cries. "You would do anything including making up this cruel twisted lie to keep me and Andy apart. I Don't believe you. I'm not you, momma!"

Charlotte holds Andie tight in her arms and rocks her. "I'm sorry, Andie, I wish it was a lie." Charlotte lets go of Andie so she could wipe her tears away.

Andie pushes her hand away. "You're just upset because I'm not your little girl anymore and you can't control me."

"Sweet Pea, you know that's not true. I want you to find someone to love you but Nicky isn't it. I know what you think you're feeling is love but it's not."

Andie stresses to Charlotte. "Whatever I'm feeling for Nicky is what I'm feeling and it's strong. It wants to make me fight for Nicky. It makes me want to fight for him even if…even if…you're not lying."

Charlotte cups Andies face in her hands. "I'm telling you the truth about Nicky. I believe you know that."

Andie cries again. "I'm so stupid. I didn't want my first time to be like this. Does Nicky know we're cousins?"

"He does now, That's why he's been avoiding you."

Andie holds her hands over her eyes. "I'm so stupid."

Charlotte hugs her again. "You're not stupid. Nobody knew except Leslie. You're my sweet, sweet angel."

Andie looks at Charlotte. "No, not anymore, I'm ruined."

"You'll always be my Sweet Pea." Charlotte grabs Andie and hugs her again.

Cooper wakes up from the commotion. He puts on a t-shirt and pair of jeans. He walks out of his bedroom into the hallway. He finds Chase sitting on the steps listening. "What's going on, Chase?"

"You don't want to know, dad." Almost sixteen year old Chase shakes his head. Cooper walks downstairs and into the living room. He looks at Charlotte and Andie both crying. "What's going on in here?"

Andie looks at Charlotte. "Please don't tell him, momma." Andie trots up the steps to her bedroom.

Cooper looks at Charlotte. "You _are_ going to tell me what's going on here."

"Of course I'm going to tell you. You're my husband and Andie's father."

"Good because for a minute there I thought you would listen to Andie Candy. What is her problem lately?" Cooper asks. "She's pregnant, isn't she?"

"No. She told me they used a condom," Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Thank God."

"What?" Cooper looks at Charlotte dumfounded.

"Andie slept with Nicky." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Why?" Cooper looks at Charlotte wide eyed. "I told her to stay away from that family."

Charlotte wait's a minute and tells him. "That's not the worst of it. Read this." She hands him the stack of legal papers Leslie left her. "I'll be in the kitchen if you have any questions." Charlotte heads into the kitchen leaving Cooper in the living room to read through all the papers.

A short time later Cooper joins Charlotte in the kitchen. "Is this true? Leslie is my twin sister?"

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "Not you too? Please don't accuse me of making this all up to keep Andie and Nicky apart."

"I know you didn't make it up. I'm just shocked. That's all." He hugs Charlotte.

"Andie slept with Nicky." Charlotte repeats, "Her first time was with her cousin."

Cooper slams his fist into the wall. "Damn it!" He shouts. "I'm going over there to see Leslie now!" Cooper storms out the door and over to Leslie's house.

"Cooper, it's after midnight." Charlotte calls after him but he doesn't listen. He rings the bell. Leslie isn't able to sleep. She answers the door after the first ring.

Cooper starts out yelling right way. "What is this about you being my sister?" His face is red and his fists are clenched.

"It's true. I gave your wife the papers." Leslis answers calmly."Please come inside and we can talk about it."

Cooper calms down a little. "How long have you known?" He asks as he paces back and forth in Leslie's living room.

"I've known for many years." Leslie sits on the couch and calmly answers. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I don't want a drink." Cooper snaps.

"Ok, then we'll just talk like adults." Leslie watches him pace back and forth.

"Why didn't you say anything when you found out?"

"Honestly, I hated you for calling DCSF. They could have taken Nicky away from me. Nicky was my whole life back then. I hated you and didn't want anything to do with you; whether you were my twin or not."

"So, why now? Why tell us now?"

"Because, I walked in on your daughter and my son after they had sex in his bedroom. They can't do that; they're cousins."

Cooper covers his eyes. His shoulders start to shake. Leslie continues to tell him. "I just told Nicky at first. I told him he couldn't see Andie again. I didn't want your daughter to find out because I knew you would find out, but your daughter wouldn't leave Nicky alone. She went to his job and she showed up here. "

"Can you blame her?" Cooper shouts through tears. "She was a virgin, your son slept with her and then doesn't want to see her again. Could you blame her for wanting to know why?"

"I didn't want her to know why. I told Nicky to be cruel to her, as much as it hurt him. It was the only way to get rid of her."

"And was he? Was Nicky cruel to my Andie?" Cooper wipes his nose.

"He was, he learned from the best, his father."

Cooper hits his fist up against the wall. "Watch it!" Leslie tells him.

Leslie continues. "I felt terrible after, Nicky felt bad after so that's why I went over there to tell Andie the truth, but she wasn't home so I told your wife."

"Damn you!" Cooper shouts. "This could have been prevented if you would have told the truth from the start!"

"I would have if you didn't call DCSF on me!" Leslie shouts. "This is your fault as much as mine!" Leslie yells.

Cooper's about to yell something back. His face goes from bright red to pale. He suddenly gets quiet. Leslie stares at him waiting for what he has to say next but he doesn't say anything. He collapses on the floor clutching his hand against his chest. "Oh my God." Leslie runs over to him. He can't say anything but he stares at her with a terrified look in his eyes. Leslie calls 911.

Chase comes downstairs. "I'm sorry, momma. Andie was upset. She didn't mean those things she said to you."

Charlotte hugs Chase. "Thank you, Sweet Fella."

"I still like when you call me that." Chase smiles. "Just don't do it in front of my friends."

"I won't." She pats his back. "Andie will be okay." Charlotte tells Chase. "Growing up is hard."

"I wish we could stay little like Drew."

"Sorry, but you can't, Sweet Fella. Drew's going to grow up one day too."

The phone rings. Chase answers it. "Oh My God!" Chase yells into the phone "We'll be right over!"

"What?" Charlotte's concerned.

"That was Leslie. She said dad collapsed on the ground holding his chest."

"Your father's having a heart attack! We have to call an ambulance."

"Leslie already called an ambulance."

"Let's go!" Charlotte and Chase run to Leslie's house.

* * *

><p><strong>REVIEW<strong>


	18. Chapter 18  The Heart Attack

**_CHAPTER 18 - THE HEART ATTACK_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Chase run into Leslie's house. "He's on the floor in the living room." Leslie shows them the way.<p>

Charlotte and Chase kneel down on each side of him. His skin is pale and his lips are checks his pulse and breathing. "Stay with me, Coop!" She yells at him trying to wake him up. "Don't die on me!"

"Is he breathing?" Chase asks.

"Barely." Charlotte tells him. "Where's the damn ambulance?" Charlotte screams.

"It's on the way. I called them first and then you." Leslie explains. "What can I do?"

"Run out to my car and get my medical kit." Charlotte yells.

"I'll get it, momma." Chase runs as fast as he can to Charlotte's car while Charlotte pumps Cooper's chest. Chase comes back in with the kit and Charlotte grabs some epinephrine from a vial.

"I need to draw it up into the syringe but I can't." She tells Chase, "my hands are shaking."

"Mine too." Chase says.

"Give it to me." Leslie grabs the vial and syringe. "How much of the vial do I draw up?"

"The whole thing." Charlotte tells her. Leslie draws the medicine up into the syringe and hands it to Charlotte. Charlotte finds a blood vessel in Cooper's neck. "If only my God damned hands would stop shaking."

"You can do it, momma. Just stay calm." Chase offers support. Charlotte injects the needle into Cooper's neck vein and checks his pulse. They hear the sirens coming down the street.

"Thank you God." Charlotte looks up while keeping her fingers on his pulse.

The paramedics run in the house. They recognize Charlotte right way as Chief of Staff. "He's having a heart attack." Charlotte tells them. "I just gave him a dose of epi. He needs to be intubated." The paramedics get the equipment and help Charlotte intubate Cooper. They hook him up to oxygen.

"You did good, momma." Chase hugs Charlotte.

"You go home and watch the kids." Charlotte pats Chase on the back. "I'll ride with daddy in the ambulance."

"K, momma." Chase tells her with tears in his eyes. "Call me when you get to the hospital."

Charlotte hops into the ambulance and sits next to Cooper's stretcher. She grabs his hand "Stay with me, Coop, always and forever, remember?"

They arrive at the hospital. Sam and Pete meet them in the ER. Sam examines Cooper. "He's having another heart attack right now." Sam announces looking at the monitor. Cooper goes into full cardiac arrest. "I need the crash cart!" Sam shouts. A nurse comes running over pushing the cart. Sam uses the paddles on Cooper until he gets a sinus rhythm back. Charlotte looks on horrified. "We need to get him to the cardiac cath lab now!" Pete yells.

Charlotte follows. "No, Charlotte you should stay here."

Charlotte sits in the waiting room alone and prays. She thinks about the events of the night. After a while Sam comes out to talk to Charlotte. "Two of Cooper's arteries are over fifty percent blocked. He's going to need bypass surgery."

Charlotte swallows. "I understand."

"Is there anyone I should call? You shouldn't be alone."

"I don't want to upset the kids."

"You're going to have to tell them Charlotte. Cooper's about to undergo major heart surgery."

"Call Violet and let her know about Cooper. She'll want to know and can you call Alexis? She'll know how to tell the kids gently. I don't think I could handle anything else tonight."

"Consider it done." Sam tells her. "They're setting Cooper up in a room in the cardiac intensive care unit until we're ready to do the surgery. You can go sit with him if you like but I need to warn you he's intubated and heavily sedated."

Charlotte walks in Cooper's room. He's hooked up to a ventilator and has tubes coming out of each arm. Several monitor's beep in the background." Charlotte holds his hand. "You better not die on me. That's an order. I can't raise these kids on my own." She sits in the chair at his bedside. At 6am the nurse comes to take Cooper to the OR. Charlotte kisses him goodbye. "Always and forever, Coop. You better not leave me." She lets herself cry after they take Cooper away on the stretcher. She walks out into the hall where Andie, Chase and Noah are now waiting.

"How's dad?" Chase asks.

"They took him to the OR. He's having major heart surgery. We need to pray for your father." Charlotte tells them.

"Alexis told us." Chase answers.

"Where's Drew?" Charlotte asks.

"Alexis brought him to Sheldon and Amelia's house. Sheldon volunteered to watch him so Drew can play with Sara."

"Good." Charlotte nods.

"How are you three doing?" Charlotte asks.

"We're worried about dad." Noah answers. "They wouldn't let us in his room to see him."

"It's the cardiac intensive care unit. We have strict rules there. The patients are very sick."

"Is dad very sick?" Andie asks. "Is there a chance he could die in surgery?"

"He's having cardiac bypass surgery. That's a serious and complicated operation, Sweet Pea, but he has excellent doctors. I'm optimistic but we need to be prepared for the worst." Charlotte tells them.

"Oh my God!" Andie runs off down the hall.

"I'll go get her, momma" Chase follows his sister. They end up in the hospital chapel. They each light a candle and pray for Cooper.

Nicky walks in the chapel.

"What are you doing here?" Andie's asks surprised.

"My mom told me what happened." Nicky tells Andie. "I'm really sorry."

"I thought you hated me?" Andie wipes away some tears with her palm.

"I'm going to go check on my momma." Chase excuses himself, leaving Nicky and Andie to talk.

"Why are you here?" Andie asks, with tears in her eyes.

"I'm here for you."

"I thought you hated me?"

"No." Nicky looks Andie in her blue eyes. "I actually love you. My mother told me you found out the truth."

"You mean... that we're cousins?" She snaps.

"Andie, I didn't know that when I slept with you. My mother told me after you went home that night. That's why I was avoiding you. I needed to deal with it myself before I could tell you."

"If my father dies, it's my fault. I'm the reason he had this heart attack."

Nicky hugs Andie. "Then it's my fault too."

Andie cries on his shoulder.

"Andie, I didn't mean any of that stuff I said. I wanted to make you hate me so you would stay away from me."

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"I knew it would make you feel as sick as it made me feel. I didn't want you to feel that way about your first time."

She hugs him tight and cries.

"I went out last night for a drink and I was thinking about it. You're not really my cousin."

"Huh?" Andie's confused.

"You're my cousin by DNA only. We didn't grow up as cousins. We didn't go to family parties or celebrate holidays together. We were neighbors and friends, so nothing has to change."

"Really?" Andie wipes her tears.

"Yes, Belle. We don't share a family bond with each other like cousins do. We have a boyfriend girlfriend bond. Think about it, if my mother never searched for her biological family, we would never have found out and we'd still be together."

"I wish your mother never searched for her biological family so we didn't know we were cousins."

"I don't think of you as my cousin, Belle, and I never will. You're Belle, the girl next door."

"I don't think of you as my cousin either." Andie tells him. "You're Nicky, like you've always been. I don't want this to change anything."

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Belle." Nicky pushes a strand of her hair behind her back.

"Does this mean we can still see each other?"

"We can still see each other." Nicky nods.

"I don't think we should tell anyone, though. My dad's very sick. I don't want to upset my family."

"If that's what you want, Belle." Nicky wipes a tear from Andie's face with his thumb.

"They may not understand that we're _not _really cousins. All they care about is what the DNA says."

"I'm not going to tell anyone. You saw how my mom freaked about it."

Andie nods. "I know."

"I love you, Belle." Nicky hugs her.

"I love you too."

Violet meets Charlotte and the boys in the surgical waiting area. "How's Cooper?" Violet asks.

"Still waiting for word." Charlotte sighs. "It's been rough."

"Hang in there, Charlotte. " Violet sits down next to Charlotte and rubs her back. "Where's Andie?"

Chase answers. "She's in the chapel."

"I should really go down to the chapel too." Charlotte says.

"Go ahead." Violet tells her. "I'll call you if I hear anything about Cooper."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to the chapel, momma." Chase tells her.

"Why not? You went." Charlotte looks at Chase.

"Never mind." Chase says.

"Come on, Noah. Let's go light a candle for your dad." Noah follows Charlotte to the chapel while Violet waits with Chase.

Charlotte and Noah enter the chapel and notice Andie and Nicky sitting together. "Good God," Charlotte says to herself. She lights a candle with Noah. Andie and Nicky get up and leave together. "Jeez," Charlotte says to herself. "I can't even find peace in the chapel."

"What's wrong, momma?" Noah asks.

"Just pray for daddy, Noah."

After a half hour, Charlotte and Noah head back to the waiting room. Violet and Chase are still waiting. Andie and Nicky are sitting together in the corner of the waiting room. Charlotte stares at Andie and Nicky sitting close together.

"We're friends, ma'am." Nicky tells Charlotte. "I'm here to offer Andie my support.

"Please let Nicky stay, momma, just until I find out daddy's okay." Andie holds Nicky's hand.

"Fine." Charlotte sits down next to Chase and Violet.

Sam comes out and walks over to them. He addresses Charlotte. "Cooper made it through the surgery. They're settling him in the recovery room now."

"Thank God." Charlotte responds. "And thank you, Sam." Violet gets up to hug Charlotte and they all take turns hugging each other. Charlotte smiles at Violet. "I used to hate hugs."

"I remember." Violet smiles back.

Nicky hugs Andie tight and gives her a short but sweet kiss on the lips. Charlotte notices but could care less at the moment. "When can I see Cooper?" Charlotte asks Sam.

"You're the Chief of Staff, go see him whenever you like. He's sedated, we'll extubate him in a few days but if you want to sit next to his bed, that would be fine."

Charlotte makes her way to the recovery room to see Cooper.


	19. Chapter 19 Holding on to Hope

**CHAPTER 19 - HOLDING ON TO HOPE**

* * *

><p>Two days after Cooper's heart surgery, Sam is able to reduce the sedation and take Cooper off of the ventilator. He wakes up feeling very sore and groggy. Charlotte's at his bedside. She offers a gentle smile while holding his hand.<p>

"You're at St. Ambrose. You had a heart attack. You underwent a double bypass operation two days ago, but you're going to be fine."

Cooper reaches his hand up to his throat. His IV dangles from his hand.

"You were intubated for over two days, that's why your throat feels so sore. You have an incision going down your chest, so that's going to be sore too. Your leg is going to be sore from where they had to take the graft. You're going to need to rest for eight to twelve weeks to recover from this surgery, Coop. No going back to work for at least three months."

Cooper searches Charlotte's face for answers. His eyes are wide and she can see the fear in them.

"It' okay, Coop. I'm going to get you through this. I'm makin' your health my priority. We're going to have to get strict about your diet again. We don't want these new arteries to get blocked up like the last ones were."

Cooper tries to nod. He's very weak and sore.

"I know it feels like you've been flattened by a tractor trailer, just rest, let me do all the talkin'... "K?"

Cooper attempts to nod again.

"Squeeze my hand if you feel like it. Don't move your body. You can have pain meds if you're really sore but I don't advise it just yet, considering you're still coming out of the sedation."

Cooper squeezes her hand, although it's a weak squeeze, to show he understands.

Charlotte tells him. "Your job right now is to get well and recover from this surgery. I'll handle the kids. I have a lot of help. Everyone's been helping out. Andie's going to stay with Addison and Danielle while I'm up here with you. Chase and Noah are staying with Violet and Pete. Drew's stayin' with Sheldon and Amelia. I know what you're thinking. Sheldon and Amelia have their plates full with Dylan having Hodgkin's disease but it's working out good. Drew's been keepin' Sara out of their hair so they can focus on Dylan and besides Sheldon's retired now, it gives him plenty to do at home."

Cooper tries to smile and squeezes Charlotte's hand again.

"Just concentrate on getting' well, Coop. The kids were all scared to death during the surgery. I explained to them that it was a serious surgery and they needed to be prepared just in case. They need you, Coop. You're better with them than I am."

Cooper tries to shake his head no. He doesn't agree with her about that.

"Drew's only five, Coop. All I kept thinking is that if you died he would have to grow up without a father, without knowin' you. We'd have to tell him stories about you so he would understand the kind of man you were."

Cooper's eyes start to tear.

"I'm not saying it to make you feel bad, Coop. I want you to understand what you have to live for, so you try your best to rest these next few weeks. I know you. You don't want to look weak. You want everyone to see you as the big strong man, but it's okay. Let us take care of you. We need you around for a long time."

Cooper squeezes her hand again.

"The kids want to see you. They're outside in the waiting room. Drew can't come in because he's too young and even though I'm Chief of Staff and can break the policy about kids under twelve being allowed to visit in the cardiac ICU, I'm not going to do that. He'll be scared if he sees you in the shape you're in. I don't want to do that to him but I'm going to let Andie, Chase and Noah in. They haven't seen you since before the heart attack. They need to know you're okay."

Cooper squeezes her hand again, weakly. Charlotte goes to get the kids. They all walk in the room quietly and stare at Cooper. Finally, Noah breaks the silence. "Hi, dad. The Lakers won the game last night."

Cooper smiles at him and everyone relaxes a little.

"Hi, daddy." Andie lifts her hand slightly to wave from across the room. Cooper smiles at her and lifts his hand up a little to wave back.

Chase looks around the room at the monitors. "Hey, dad, If you wanted a vacation from us you should have just said so, you didn't need to go to all this trouble." Chase jokes. They all laugh, Cooper gives Chase the biggest smile so far.

"There we go." Charlotte grins. "That's what I want to see."

"When can daddy come home?" Andie asks Charlotte.

"Daddy needs to rest for a few weeks in the hospital. He had a serious surgery and it's going to take some time to heal."

"I miss you, daddy. I've been staying at Danielle's since you've been in the hospital." Andie tells Cooper.

Cooper tries nod at her.

"Yeah and we're staying at Aunt Violet and Uncle Pete's" Noah tells him. "Aunt Violet is real worried about you. She wants to visit you."

"We'll let your father rest before we let more visitors in. I don't think your father's ready for company just yet anyway. I just wanted you kids to see he's okay."

Cooper's heart monitor goes off and the kids all freeze in place staring at him. Charlotte checks Cooper and the monitor.

"What's going on, momma?" Chase asks.

"Is he okay, momma?" Andie asks, frantically.

Charlotte looks at the monitor. "It's okay, one of his leads just came loose when he moved." Charlotte fixes the lead. "You're okay, Coop. It was just a loose lead."

"Thank God." Andie breaks down crying. "I was scared daddy was having another heart attack."

"He's not having another heart attack, Sweet Pea." Charlotte hugs Andie trying to comfort her. Andie looks at Cooper. "I'm sorry, daddy. Is it my fault that you got upset and had a heart attack? I'm sorry. Please don't die, daddy. Please don't die."

"It's not your fault, Sweet Pea." Charlotte tell Andie in a firm voice. "Your father has a cholesterol problem. It's genetic. His body builds up the bad cholesterol causing his arteries to clog."

Cooper tries to talk but nothing comes out due to his vocal cords being irritated by the intubation tube.

"But why did he have the heart attack after he found out about me and Nicky the other night, then?"

"The stress exacerbated it, but his arteries were already clogged. You didn't cause that, Sweet Pea. His genes did."

Cooper nods his head repeatedly to show Andie he agrees with Charlotte. "Your father needs his rest now. He should be able to talk to y'all tomorrow. You can visit him again in the morning before you go to school."

"K." Noah pats Cooper on the shoulder. "Feel better, old man."

"Later, man." Chase tells Cooper. "Next time you want a break go to Hawaii or something." Chase pats Cooper on the shoulder before leaving.

"Bye, Daddy." Andie places a gentle kiss on Cooper's forehead. "Feel better. I miss you."

Cooper grabs Andie's hand and squeezes it.

After the kids all leave Charlotte tells Cooper. "It's a good thing you didn't die. Andie would blame herself for the rest of her life. You better concentrate on restin' and getting better for all of us."

Cooper nods and squeezes her hand, a little stronger this time.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thanks for the feedback. I know some of you love Nicky and Andie together and others are uncomfortable with it. This is going to be another long story and we're going to watch them struggle with this on and off. We're also going to see Chase find a girlfriend soon and there will be some fun stuff coming up with Noah and his friends. Andie and Nicky will not always be the main focus. And oh yeah, more Charlotte and Cooper ahead too. It's gonna be a long ride so hold on! =)<em>**


	20. Chapter 20 Moving Forward

**_A/N- For those of you who are uncomfortable with Andie and Nicky you might want to skip the second half of this chapter. I placed a line to break the chapter into two parts so if they make you uncomfortable just read the first half. =) _**

**_CHAPTER 20 - MOVING FORWARD _**

One week later, Cooper's moved out of the cardiac intensive care and into a regular hospital room. He's still a bit sore from the surgery but his voice is much stronger. "I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"I'm good." Cooper nods. "Don't be too long. I'll miss you."

"That's cuz I've spoiled' ya by being at your bedside all day and all night when you were in the ICU."

"Sorry." Cooper pretends to make a pout face. "I know you've got other places to be."

"I'm not complainin'." She smiles before leaving to get something to eat and check on the kids and to make sure the hospital's running smooth.

There's a knock at the door. "Come in." Cooper calls out.

Leslie walks in carrying a box. "I know I'm the last person you want to see but I figured since you finally know the truth now, I would give you these to look through." She puts a box down on Cooper's bed and turns to leave.

"Wait!" Cooper calls out. "What's in the box?"

"They're pictures of our mother when she was young. I thought you might like to look at them. Andie looks a lot like her."

Cooper opens the box and takes out the first picture of a red headed little girl with big blue eyes. "This looks like Andie when she was about five."

"That's our mother when she was about five. My daughter Samantha looked just like her too when she was five, right before she died."

Cooper pulls another picture out of the box. "Is this her as a teenager?"

"Yep." Leslie nods.

"She looks so much like Andie." Cooper stares at the picture.

"Did you ever read the comic Brenda Starr?" Leslie asks.

"I loved Brneda Starr, first thing I looked at in the Sunday papers was the funnies section." Cooper answers, still staring at the picture.

"Me too." Lesle snickers "Andie reminds me of her with the long red hair, blue eyes and the full lips. I wonder if Samantha would've look like that when she was a teenager?"

"I think so." Cooper nods. "I swear I'm holding a picture of Andie in my hand but I know it's not because it's so old."

"That's our mother in that picture too. Her name is Susan."

Cooper stares at the picture. "Is she nice?"

"Very nice."

"Why'd she give us up?" Cooper asks.

"She was sixteen and having twins. How scary is that?" Leslie tells him.

"I guess." Cooper can't take his eyes off the picture.

"Her parents weren't willing or able to help her raise twins at sixteen so adoption was her only option."

Cooper just nods his head.

"Our mother also has epilepsy just like my daughter Samantha did."

"I'm sorry about Samantha dying from her epilepsy." Cooper says genuinely.

"Samantha didn't die from the epilepsy. She died because she had a seizure in the pool and I wasn't paying attention to her. Bruce never forgave me for that. Our problems all started after Samantha died."

"It was an accident, Leslie."

"That would be easy to say if she broke her arm but she died. She was a daddy's girl and when she died a part of Bruce died. He resented Nicky after that. He tried to love Nicky but he couldn't help it."

"Why did he resent Nicky? Nicky was just a baby when his sister died."

"Nicky was the reason I took my eyes off Samantha in the pool. I was changing Nicky's diaper; taking care of him. It only took about five minutes but when I looked up I couldn't find Samantha. She was at the bottom of the pool."

"I'm sorry." Cooper looks through the shoe box at more pictures.

"Who's this?" Cooper asks, holding up a picture of his mother as a teen and a young man.

"That's our father. His name is Michael."

"I see a resemblance to Chase." Cooper looks at the picture.

"Chase looks like you and you look like our dad."

"What happened to him?" Cooper asks.

"He died about ten years ago," Lesle hesitates and then tells Cooper, "from a heart attack."

"That' figures." Cooper takes a deep breath.

"He got married a few years after we were born and had five kids. He supposedly was a great father, loved children and all."

"Did you look for them?" Cooper asks Leslie. "Our siblings?"

"Yeah, but they didn't want to welcome their dad's daughter from another mother into their clan."

"Did Susan have any more children after us?"

"She got married but didn't have anymore kids. Back then, the seizure meds they used had serious birth defects so she didn't want to get pregnant while taking the meds, whenever she tried to stop taking them she would have a seizure."

"That's sad." Cooper looks at more pictures.

"Yeah. Her husband passed away five years ago so she's alone and I'm alone, well, I have my kids but other then that I'm alone so I connected with Susan. She's a trip. I think you would like her."

"Yeah well, I have a mother."Cooper tells Leslie. "Her name is Mary Freedman; she raised me. I was lucky to be adopted by the Freedman's. They were great to me."

"You were lucky. I didn't have the same experience. My parents were great until they had their own biological children, then it became a Cinderella story for me. I don't talk to them anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be because they almost adopted you too, but then the Freeman's came along. The lawyers decided they could make more money off of two adoptions instead of letting my family adopt both of us."

"Wow." Cooper says. "Good thing for greedy lawyers." Cooper and Leslie share a chuckle.

"I'm going to go now. Look through the pictures, if there are any you would like to keep let me know and I'll make copies for you."

"Great." Cooper continues looking through the shoe box full of old photos. He looks up at Leslie before she leaves. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>Danielle drops Andie off at home so Andie can take a shower and pick out some new clothes.<p>

"Thanks Danielle. I'll call you when I'm ready to be picked up."

"Make sure you call me before six. My mom wants us both home by then."

"Why?" Andie asks.

"Sam wants to take us all out for dinner."

"Great. I'll call you as soon as I'm done." Andie walks in the door and looks around her empty house. She hasn't been here in a week. She's been staying at Addison's with Danielle since Cooper's been in the hospital. She hops in the shower. After she steps out she hears the doorbell ring. She quickly throws on her robe and runs to the door, by the time she answers it nobody is there. She's about to close the door when she notices Nicky in his driveway.

"Did you see who rang my door bell?" She calls out to Nicky.

Nicky walks up to her. "It was me. I saw Danielle drop you off earlier and figured I'd come over to say hi. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I can't call or see you since I'm staying at Danielles, if we don't want anyone to find out we're seeing each other."

"I can't wait for you to come back home, Belle."

"I will, as soon as my dad's released from the hospital. Do you want to come in?"

Nicky walks in the door "How's your dad doing?"

"Better, but it's going to be a long recovery. He had major heart surgery."

"Bummer." Nicky sits on the couch.

Andie sits next to him. "So, are we still okay?"

"I'm okay with it as long as you are." Nicky tells her. "I can't turn off my feelings just because they say you're my cousin."

"Me either." Andie leans in and kisses Nicky.

Nicky pushes Andies robe down off her shoulders. "Sorry, I didn't know you didn't have any clothes on underneath." He checks out her body.

"I'm going to have to punish you for that."

"What's my punishment?"

"I'm going to have to take your clothes off to get revenge." Andie pulls Nicky's t-shirt off.

"I like this punishment." Nicky laughs.

"Did you bring an umbrella?" Andie unbuttons Nicky's jeans.

"A what" Nicky laughs.

Andie unzips Nicky's pants. "That's what they call it on the bus."

"I left my umbrella home but I brought one of these." He pulls his wallet out of his pocket and takes out a condom. He hands it to Andie while he pulls his pants off.

Andie reads the wrapper. "Extra large? I didn't know. You're the first guy I've ever seen naked."

"You have three brothers. You've never seen them naked?"

"I've seen Drew naked but he's only five."

Nicky sits down next to her on the couch and caresses her. "You've never walked in on your brothers in the shower?"

"Good God, no! They lock the bathroom door."

"That's good." Nicky kisses her.

Andie touches him. "So, you're really an extra large?"

"According to the condom wrapper." Nicky kisses her breasts.

"Is that why it hurt when we first did it?" Andie pumps him. "Because, you're Mr. Man is bigger than normal?"

Nicky looks up, "Mr. Man?"

"What do you want to call him?"

"I call him Nick the dick... never mind. Just call him Nick. It sounds better or Mr. Nick, if you want."

"I like Mr. Nick." Andie decides. "Did it hurt because Mr. Nick is bigger than normal?"

Nicky laughs. "You talk a lot." He kisses her neck and tells her, "It hurt because you were a virgin. You were nervous so your muscles were tight, that's why it hurt."

"Oh. I'll try to relax" Andie takes a deep breath.

"Are you nervous now?" Nicky sucks on her neck.

"A little."

"Why are you nervous?"

"I don't want it to hurt again but I liked the wave at the end that was awesome. I wanna feel that again."

"Yeah," Nicky kisses down her neck. "That part always feels good."

Nicky kisses her breasts and then takes turns licking and sucking her stiffened peaks until she's moaning something fierce for him. He reaches his hand between her legs. "You're wet, that means your ready for Mr. Nick."

Andie leans all the way back on the couch. Nicky slowly eases into her. "How's that?'

She looks in his eyes. "Good." She grimaces a little and takes a deep breath.

"Loosen up your legs and relax. Trust me, it'll feel a hundred times better if you let yourself relax." Nicky sucks hard on her neck while he makes swirls on her nipple with his thumb. She moans and grinds her hips into his. "It feels good now. I'm relaxing."

"Keep moving with me." He tells her. "Good, Belle, move faster with me. It'll feel amazing soon."

"She starts screaming his name as they move back and forth all sweaty. They climax at the same time. He falls down on to her all sweaty. "How was it? Was it as good as the first time?" He asks.

"Even better." Andie kisses him.

"It'll get better each time. I'll start teaching you new things when you're more relaxed about it."

"Teach me something new now." Andie cups him between his legs. "Come on out to play again, Mr. Nick. I'm not done with you, yet" Andie laughs and starts to pump him again. They hear the door open. Nicky quickly pulls the blanket cover of the couch over them.

Chase and Noah walk in the door. "Holy Crap!" Chase yelps and jumps back a step. He covers Noah's eyes. "Get out of here, bro. You don't want to see this." He pushes fourteen year old Noah out the front door.

"What the hell?" Noah asks Chase, whose covering his eyes and pushing him out the door.

"Never mind. Just wait outside a minute. I have something to say to Andie." Chase walks back in the front door. He looks at his sister and shouts "What the hell is wrong with you? How could you do this while dad's lying in the hospital? Do you want him to have another heart attack because his only daughter is screwing her cousin on the couch that dad sits on to watch TV?"

"You need to leave." Nicky tells Chase.

"No! You need to leave!" Chase yells at Nicky. "This is my house!"

Andie holds the blanket tight against herself and tells Chase. "Wait outside. Give us a few minutes to get dressed."

"You have five minutes." Chase walks back out the door. Nicky laughs.

"It's not funny. My brothers just saw me naked." Andie pouts and puts her robe back on.

"Come on, Belle, you have to laugh about it, besides your brothers didn't see anything. I pulled the blanket on top of us as soon as I heard the door open."

Andie watches Nicky get dressed. "We can't screw around at my house anymore. My dad can never find out we're a couple."

"Your dad doesn't like kissing cousins?" Nicky jokes as he zips up his pants.

"Don't even joke about it. We're not kissing cousins. I told you, as far as I'm concerned, you're _not_ my cousin. You're my boyfriend."

"I was just teasing." Nicky pulls his shirt on.

"Well, don't tease me about it." Andie tells him firm." I'll be happy if I never hear the word cousin again."

"K, Belle, I won't say that nasty word again." Nicky kisses her. "When can I see you again?"

"I don't know. I'll text you." She kisses him goodbye.

"I love you, Belle." Nicky kisses her neck.

"Tell my brothers they can come in now. They're always grouchy after school, until they get a snack."

"What are they doing here, anyway? I thought they were staying at your aunt's house?"

"They come here after school for a snack and then go to Aunt Violet's for dinner and to spend the night."

"Aren't you guys old enough to stay alone?"

"My mom didn't want to leave us alone when my dad was so sick. I think she was afraid he might die or something. She wanted us to be around people who care about us."

"I care about you." Nicky sucks on her neck.

"I know."

Nicky looks up at her. "So, where is your mom staying?"

"She sleeps in my dad's hospital room with him every night."

"Wow, that's true love." Nicky sucks on her neck again.

"I better go. I'm supposed to go out to dinner with Danielle and her mom tonight."

"I wish you could spend the night with me." Nicky pouts.

"Not happening. We have to be discreet. Now, go tell my brothers they can come back in the house. I'll text you later."

Nicky blows her another kiss before leaving.


	21. Chapter 21  Cover Up

**_CHAPTER 21 Cover- UP_**

* * *

><p>Andie and Danielle share a plate of chicken teriyaki at the Japanese restaurant Sam and Addison took them to eat dinner at. Sam comments, "you girls can have your own meal, you don't need to share."<p>

"It's okay, Sam." Addison says, "if they want to share it let them share."

"Look at the waiter. He thinks I'm a cheapskate." Sam points at a waiter to Addison.

Addison laughs. "So, leave him a big tip."

"I'm not leaving him a big tip. He forgot to bring out my appetizer and miso soup. He doesn't deserve any tip from me."

"Be nice, Sam." Addison eats her sushi.

Sam looks at Andie. "What's that on your neck?"

Andie feels her neck. "What?" She asks.

"You have a red mark on your neck. It looks like you got bit by a vampire." Sam teases.

Andie tries to cover her neck with her hand.

"She burnt her neck with the curling iron." Danielle thinks quickly.

"I don't remember Andie using the curling iron before we left for dinner."

"I did." Andie tells him. "I was in a hurry and that's why I burnt myself."

"I may be old but I know that mark didn't come from a curling iron. There's a tooth mark in the middle of it." Sam eats his sushi.

"Excuse me. I have to use the bathroom." Andie gets up holding her hand over her neck.

"I have to go too." Danielle follows Andie to the bathroom.

"Why'd you do that?" Addison asks Sam.

"What?"

"You embarrassed her on purpose. You know that's a hickey on her neck." Addison takes a bite of her sushi.

Sam tells Addison, "we're responsible for her this week. She didn't come to us with that hickey on her neck. Charlotte's gonna throw a fit when she sees her. She'll rip our heads off for not watching her daughter."

"I'm not afraid of Charlotte." Addison tells Sam.

"Charlotte's going to be like a mother tiger when she notices that hickey." Sam continues to eat.

"What do you want me to do, Sam? I have to work. I can be with them twenty four hours a day."

"You better hope Andie didn't get pregnant at the same time she got that hickey." Sam sips his beer. "Looks like somebody was working on her neck for a good long time."

"Andie's almost seventeen, Charlotte's a sexologist. I'm sure she talked to Andie about safe sex."

* * *

><p>In the bathroom, Danielle gives Andie some cover up makeup to put on her neck. Andie smears it on thick. "Who gave you the love bite?" Danielle asks.<p>

"Who do you think?" Andie tells her.

"Nicky?"

Andie nods. "You can't tell anyone. This can't get back to my dad. He'll have another heart attack if he knows I'm seeing Nicky."

"I thought you stopped seeing Nicky because he's your cousin?"

"Ewe…Don't say that word…. I hate that word now." Andie grimaces as she applies more makeup to try to even out on her neck.

"So, you 're still going to see him?"

"I don't consider him my...- you know..._that_ word."

"Cousin?" Danielle fills in the blank.

"Yeah, that. We fell in love before we knew and we're going to continue on as if we never found out." Andie looks at her cover up job in the mirror.

"But, your kids will have two heads." Danielle tells her.

"I looked it up on the internet, they'll be fine as long as we both don't carry some recessive gene for a serious illness. We can get genetic tested to check."

"Wow, you're really serious about Nicky if you researched having a kid with him." Danielle's surprised.

"I love him."

"What if the genetic testing shows you both do have the same gene for a serious illness?" Danielle asks.

Andie shrugs. "Then we'll adopt. My dad was adopted and so was Nicky's mom, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Hell no, I'm adopted." Danielle reminds Andie.

"It's fine for me to be with Nicky. We can always adopt if we have the same bad gene."

"Good for you." Danielle hugs her.

"But, my parents can never find out. I don't want my dad to croak. Chase caught us on the couch but he won't say anything to my dad. Chase is cool like that."

"How are you going to hide it from them when your dad gets home from the hospital?" Danielle asks.

"We'll have to hang out at places I know my parents would never go."

"I know a place you guys can go to be alone?"

"Where?" Andie asks.

"You know the horse stable my mom bought when we were kids? The one where we used to take riding lessons?"

"Yeah." Andie nods her head.

"Remember the red barn all the way in the back where they keep the bales of hay for the horses?"

"Yeah."

"That's where Tyler and I go when we want to be alone."

"Have you and Tyler consummated your relationship yet?" Andie teases.

"Yep!" Danielle beams at herself in the mirror. "At the barn."

"Congratulations." Andie hugs her.

"Thanks." Danielle brushes her hair. "You can use the barn. It has electricity. I left an old portable stereo there and a portable electric fireplace to make it romantic."

"Awesome." Andie inspects her cover up job in the mirror. " Did it hurt the first time?" Andie asks Danielle.

"Hell, yeah." Danielle answers. "Tyler had a great time but I wanted to cry. It hurt like hell."

"How 'bout the second time?" Andie asks.

"It was better and the third even better than that. How bout you?"

"In the beginning, when he first put Mr. Nick in, it hurt, but then he talked to me and got me to relax and it felt really good." Andie boasts.

"Mr. Nick? You have a name for it?" Danielle laughs.

"Don't you?" Andie asks.

"No. Should I?"

"Yeah, it makes it more fun. Nicky's going to teach me some new stuff, next time." Andie brags.

"You're lucky. Tyler doesn't know what he's doing. We're learning together. Maybe you can give me some tips?"

"The first thing you need to do is relax. Try and have a beer first, it's so much better when you relax and have fun with it."

"Got it, relax." Danielle nods.

"Then, give it a name. It makes it more fun and if you're not having fun, what's the point?"

"I'll call it Mister Ty for now." Both girls laugh. Addison comes in the bathroom. "What's so funny?"

"Uh…nothing, mom." Danielle turns bright red.

"I came to see what was taking you girls so long in the bathroom. Sam thought maybe one of you fell in."

"Ha, ha, mom, very funny." Danielle says sarcastically to Addison.

Addison looks at Andie's neck, "Now, I see what you were doing in here. You caked it on way too thick. Here, let me show you the right way to cover up a hickey."

Danielle gasps. "Mom?"

Addison wipes the makeup off Andie's neck. "I was seventeen once."

"You won't say anything to my mother?" Andie asks Addison.

"Does your mother know you're having sex?" Addison asks Andie.

"She knows I did it once, but she thinks I broke up with the guy." Andie stands still and let's Addison fix the makeup on her neck.

"Are you on the pill?" Addison asks.

"No, but we use condoms."

"Condoms are fine, but they can leak. It's a good idea to have a backup, just in case. I'll give you a prescription for the pill."

"Thank you." Andie nods.

"But, you still need to use condoms to prevent against diseases. Okay."

"K," Andie answers.

"Mom?" Danielle asks.

"Yes, Danielle?"

"Can, I have a prescription for the pill too?"

Addison stares at Danielle.

"I'm eighteen, mom. I'm a year older than Andie and you're not mad at her."

"I'm not mad at you, Danielle." Addison hugs her. "I want you girls to be able to come to me if you need anything or have any questions. Naomi's daughter, Maya, got pregnant at fifteen because she didn't feel comfortable talking to her mom. I don't want you girls to ever feel uncomfortable talking to me about anything."

"K, mom." Danielle hugs Addison. Addison looks over her Danielle's shoulder. "That goes for you too, Andie, you can come to me if you need to talk. I promise not to judge." Andie nods her head.

"We better get back to the table before Sam thinks we all fell down the toilet." Addison escorts the girls back to the table.

* * *

><p><strong><em>REVIEW<em>**


	22. Chapter 22  Visitors

**_CHAPTER 22 - VISITORS_**

* * *

><p>Cooper's resting comfortably in his hospital room. Charlotte pokes her head in the room. "Are you up for some company?"<p>

Cooper smiles. "Where have you been?"

"I stopped to pick up a little surprise for you." Charlotte opens the door and five year old Drew runs into Cooper's room. "He's been dying to visit you all week, since you're in a regular room now, I told him he can."

Cooper holds his arms out. "Hey, little buddy."

Drew runs and jumps into Cooper's arms, landing heavy against Cooper's chest. "Owww!" Cooper yells. "That hurt!"

"Easy, Drew. Your father just had surgery." Charlotte tells her five year old son.

"Sorry, daddy."

Cooper grimaces. "It's okay, little buddy. It's my fault. I held my arms out for you. You didn't know."

"Let me take a look at your incision." Charlotte lifts up Cooper's t-shirt and pulls off the bandage. I'll change it for you." Charlotte washes her hands and puts on sterile gauze to change Cooper's chest bandage.

While Charlotte's changing the bandage, Drew pulls a chair across the room and climbs on it. "What are you doing, buddy?" Cooper asks his son.

"I'm trying to turn the TV on." Drew climbs on the high back of the chair, standing on it to try and reach the TV, which is hanging down from the ceiling.

"Don't do that, buddy. You'll fall and get hurt." Cooper warns his son. Just as Cooper says it the chair and drew tumble down on the floor.

Drew jumps up. "I'm okay. I didn't get hurt."

"Good." Cooper says. "I'll turn it on with the remote." Cooper clicks the TV on. "Tell me what channel you want, Drew."

Drew jumps up onto the bed and lands on Cooper's leg. "Owww!" Cooper screams.

"What now?" Charlotte asks.

"Drew jumped on my leg graft and he's still sitting on it." Cooper grits his teeth.

"Get off daddy's leg, Squirt. He has another boo boo there." Charlotte looks at Cooper. "Maybe, I shouldn't have brought him up yet."

Cooper grits his teeth in pain. "You should have brought him up on a leash. Scout would behave better if you brought her up to visit me."

"Where's Scout, momma?" Drew asks.

"She's staying at Aunt Violet's and Uncle Pete's with Chase and Noah, while daddy's in the hospital." Charlotte removes the dressing from Cooper's leg graft site to examine it. "It looks fine, Coop. Let me put another gauze over it."

"Why does Daddy have that boo-boo on his leg? I thought they cut his heart apart?" Drew asks.

"They didn't cut my heart apart." Cooper tells him.

Charlotte explains. "They took a blood vessel out of daddy's leg and put it near his heart because the one that was by his heart wasn't working anymore."

"Don't they have to put a new one in his leg cuz they took one out of his leg?" Drew asks.

"No. The other blood vessels in daddy's leg will take over it's job." Charlotte explains.

"Will daddy be able to walk with that big boo-boo?"

"Of course, I can walk." Cooper tells him.

Charlotte adds. "But, daddy needs a lot of time to heal. So, no jumping or pouncing on him until he's all better. Got it?"

"Got it, momma."

Chase and Noah stroll into the room carrying one bag of Nacho chips and one bag of pretzels. "We weren't sure which one is the healthier snack so be brought both." Noah hands Cooper the snacks.

"I'll stick with the pretzels." Cooper rips open the bag. Noah sticks his hand in the bag and grabs a handful. "Mmm...a nice cold beer would go good with these."

Charlotte glares at Noah. "My fourteen year old son did not just say that!"

Cooper chuckles. "Yeah...He did."

"I better not catch you drinking beer." Charlotte warns Noah.

"Lighten' up, momma. I wouldn't have said it in front of you, if I meant it." Noah shoves more pretzels in his mouth.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better, Noah? You sayin' you would sneak it behind my back if you meant it."

"That's not what I said, momma."

Cooper holds his hands up. "Let's change the subject."

Drew opens the shoebox of pictures sitting next to Cooper's bed. "Look a picture of Andie when she was little."

"That's not Andie." Cooper tells Drew.

Chase takes the picture out of Drew's hand. "It is too, dad, look." Chase shows Cooper the picture.

"Look at the picture, Chase. It's about fifty years old." Cooper tells his sixteen year old son.

"Oh, yeah. It does look old. That girl in the picture looks just like Andie when she was ten. Who is it?"

"It's my biological mother, Susan Moore." Cooper tells them.

Charlotte grabs the picture from Chase. "Let me see that." Charlotte examines the picture. "She does look a lot like Andie."

"She has epilepsy too." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"No, kiddin?" Charlotte replies. "Now we know her seizures are hereditary and not from the experimental drug I was given when I was pregnant." Charlotte, Chase and Noah sort through the shoe box looking at the old photo's.

"This guy looks like you." Noah shows Chase a picture.

"That's my biological father, Michael." Cooper tells them.

"Does anyone look like me?" Drew calls out.

"You'll have to go to Alabama to see the people that look like you, Drew." Cooper tells him. "You and Noah look just like your momma and her family."

"I love you, momma." Drew hugs Charlotte's leg.

"Love you too, Squirt."

"Hey! What about me?" Cooper asks.

"I love you too, daddy." Drew goes to hug Cooper. Charlotte pulls him away. "We don't want you goin' and hurting daddy again, Squirt."

"Where did these pictures come from, dad?" Noah asks.

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "Might as well tell them. They're going to find out sooner or later."

Cooper tells the boys. "It turns out I have a twin sister who was adopted by another family. She brought me these pictures."

"Can we meet her?" Noah asks.

"You already have." Cooper answer. "It's the neighbor, Leslie."

Noah asks. "You mean Suzie and Nicky's mother?"

"Yep."

"Whoa!" Noah says. "That makes Suzie and Nicky our cousin's."

"That's right." Cooper answers.

"Cool." Noah says. "Wait a minute, you have to tell Andie, she's had a crush on Nicky since forever."

"Andie knows." Charlotte tells Noah while looking through the pictures.

Noah tells his momma, "I don't think so, because Andie was with him on the…-"

"Ahem!" Chase clears his throat loudly and interrupts Noah. "Andie was with him on the phone because he called to check on dad's health."

Noah screws up his face. "What are you….-" Noah stops talking when he notices Chase making faces with his hand up against his throat, signifying for Noah to stop talking.

"Yeah," Noah goes on. "He called to see how dad was feeling." Noah asks Chase, "how long did you know about this?"

"I found out the same night that mom, dad and Andie found out." Chase answers.

"How come I'm always the last to know stuff?" Noah asks.

"You're not," Chase tells him. "Drew is."

"If they're our cousins, are we going to be allowed to talk to them now?" Noah asks.

"We'll take it slow." Charlotte tells him. "It's a lot to handle and your father needs his rest."

"Nicky and Suzie are cool. I think we should invite them over." Noah tells his parents.

"Let's take it one day at a time." Charlotte tells the boys.

"Isn't the Lakers game coming on now?" Cooper asks the boys.

"Yeah, put the TV on." Chase tells Cooper. Cooper flicks on the TV.

Chase sits on the bedside chair, Drew climbs on his big brother's lap to watch the game.

Noah lies across the foot of Cooper's bed while Charlotte sits next to Cooper in bed. They munch on pretzels and watch the game together. Charlotte gives Cooper a soft, sweet kiss. "What was that for?" Cooper asks.

"This is nice, all of us sittin' here watchin' the basketball game." Charlotte tells him.

"Only two things could make this night better." Cooper tells her.

"What?"

"If Andie Candy was here and if we were home watching the game on our own couch."

"Soon," Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Where is my Andie Candy tonight?" Cooper asks.

"She texted me, she had to study for an Earth Science test. She'll be up to see you tomorrow."

Chase rolls his eyes wondering if his sister is really studying for Earth Science or at home on the couch with Nicky again.

_**REVIEW!**_


	23. Chapter 23  The Bug Bite?

**_CHAPTER 23 - THE BUG BITE?_**

* * *

><p>Cooper and Charlotte are still asleep in his hospital bed when Violet and Sheldon parade in the room. "Isn't that sweet?" Violet says to Sheldon. Charlotte's sound asleep curled up next to Cooper.<p>

"Ahem." Sheldon loudly clears his throat to wake them. Cooper opens his eyes and rubs them at the sight of Sheldon and Violet standing inn his room. "I usually get woken up by the hospital vampires who want to draw my blood."

"Sorry we woke you." Violet walks over to Cooper and gives him a hug and then a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm not sorry we woke you." Sheldon grumbles half joking. "Drew wakes us up every morning at six which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't just retire. I was hoping to sleep in."

"What time do Dylan and Sara wake up?" Cooper asks.

"They sleep until eight and even if they wake up earlier they're quiet, not like Drew who's bouncing off the walls at six in the morning." Sheldon complains.

Cooper looks at Violet. "How are Chase and Noah behaving for you?"

"They've been perfect house guests." Violet tells Cooper. "They take out the garbage without being asked and clean up after themselves."

Cooper nods. "Charlotte and I have them trained well."

"What happened to your little one?" Sheldon asks. "Did you guys run out of steam by the time he was born, because he's a handful?"

Cooper ignores Sheldon and asks Violet "What's in the bag?"

"We brought you a bagel with lox for breakfast."

Sheldon adds. "There's low fat cream cheese in the bag too if you want to put that on. Violet and I weren't sure if you could have any cream cheese."

"As long as it's low fat, it's fine." Cooper opens the bag to look inside.

Charlotte opens her eyes and yawns and stretches at the sound of Cooper crinkling the bag.

"We brought a bagel for Charlotte too." Violet tells Cooper.

Charlotte sits up and wipes her hand across her face.

"Good morning." Cooper tells her. "We have guests and they brought us bagels and coffee."

Charlotte adjusts her tank top and looks a Violet and Sheldon. "Thank you. How are the kids behaving for you?"

Cooper answers before they have a chance. "Chase and Noah are perfect gentlemen but Drew is driving Sheldon up the wall."

"I'm sorry, Sheldon, you've had Drew for ten days already. I'll see if Jolie and Cole can take him until Cooper's out of the hospital."

"It's alright, Charlotte. We can handle him." Sheldon feels bad now for complaining about Drew.

"No." Charlotte tells him."I know drew can be rambunctious and you have Dylan who's sick. I'll asks Jolie and Cole."

"What about Addison?" Violet asks.

"Andie's staying with Addison besides Addison doesn't have little kids for Drew to play with." Charlotte bites into her bagel.

"How's Dylan doing with his chemo?" Cooper asks Sheldon.

"He's tolerating it well. He's actually happy to stay home and be tutored than go to school." Sheldon comments.

"For now," Violet tells Sheldon. "He'll start too miss his friends at school soon."

"I don't know." Sheldon tells her. "He's pretty happy staying home. I'm taking him to see Alexis this afternoon."

"Good." Cooper tells him. "He needs to talk about how he feels about being sick."

"So, when are you being discharged, Cooper?"

"Soon, I hope." Cooper answers.

Andie breezes into in the room. "Hi, daddy. I wanted to see you before I went to school."

"How did you get here?" Charlotte hugs her daughter.

"Danielle drove me. I can't stay long, she's waiting for me outside. I just wanted to say hi to daddy since I didn't get a chance to visit last night." Andie gives Cooper a kiss on the cheek.

Cooper hugs his daughter. "Good luck on your Earth Science test." He tells her.

"Ah, I remember Earth Science." Sheldon comments. "One of my best subjects."

"What's wrong with your neck, Andie?" Violet's eyes fix on Andie's neck, inspecting the makeup job Andie did to cover up her hickey.

"I had a bug bite on my neck...Addison gave me some cream to put on it. I guess I was allergic to the cream and had a reaction." Andie lies.

"Come here, let me take a look at it, Andie Candy." Cooper waves her back over.

"Sorry, daddy. I gotta go. Danielle's waiting. Maybe, I'll come back to visit you after school." Andie tells him as she runs out the door.

Charlotte gets up."If you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for work." Charlotte uses the bathroom in Cooper's room to get ready. They hear the shower turn on.

"I hope you get discharged soon, Coop." Violet tells him. "When do you think you'll be back at work?"

"Not for another two or three months." Cooper explains. "Charlotte wants me completely stress free for the next few months."

"Can't blame her." Sheldon quirks his eyebrow. "She wants you strong and healthy to help her with your four hooligans."

"Hey!" Cooper laughs "Don't call my kids hooligans." He takes a sip of his coffee.

"I don't know how you and Charlotte do it with the four of them. Amelia and I only have two and it's quite a challenge."

"Charlotte and I run a tight ship." Cooper tells Sheldon. "You have to know how to keep the kids in line."

"Heh, heh." Sheldon laughs. "I know first hand Drew's not walking in that line and it looks like Andie strays off the line too."

"What are you talking about?" Cooper asks "Andie's a good kid."

"That _bug_ bite…-" Sheldon starts to say before Violet pinches his arm and gives him a stern look.

"Uh…." Sheldon looks at Violet. Uh... that bug bite looked like a spider bite to me. I get them all the time." Sheldon corrects himself.

"You need to clean your house, Sheldon, if you have spiders biting you all the time." Cooper laughs.

"We should go now." Violet gives Cooper a kiss goodbye. After they get in the hall. Violet asks Sheldon. "What's wrong with you? You're not supposed to get Cooper's blood pressure up."

Sheldon insists to Violet. "You know as well as I do that was no bug bite on Andie's neck. That was a love bite Andie was covering up, not a bug bite."

"I know that, but Cooper doesn't. He didn't get a good look at it. If Cooper knew his Andie Candy was out getting love bites while he's in the hospital it would kill him…well I don't mean literally kill him... but it would upset him and that's the last thing he needs right now."

"I wasn't thinking. I'm sleep deprived from taking caring of Drew for the past ten days." Sheldon says as they walk off talking.

Charlotte comes out of the bathroom. "I have to go to my office and check on how things are running for a little while."

"I'll miss you." Cooper says. "It's so boring sitting in this hospital bed."

"I'll take you for a walk down the hall when I get back."

"Oh, yay, I get to walk down the hospital corridor for excitement." Cooper complains.

"Would you rather I brought Drew up to jump on your wounds again?" Charlotte asks. "You won't be bored with Drew around."

"I hope Andie comes back after school. I miss her." Cooper sighs.

"I'll text her and tell her that." Charlotte gives Cooper a kiss before she leaves. Charlotte bumps into Addison in the hall. "I hear you gave Andie cream for that _bug__bite_ on her neck and she had an allergic reaction to it."

"Andie told you that?" Addison stares at Charlotte.

"Relax, Montgomery. I wasn't born yesterday. I know it wasn't a bug bite."

"It's okay, Charlotte. I talked to her about it. I hope you don't mind I gave her a prescription for the pill."

"Thank you." Charlotte says. "I already knew she wasn't a virgin anymore, there's just been so much going on since then with Cooper, I haven't had a chance to sit down and talk to her about the pill."

"Anytime. Andie's a good kid."

Charlotte asks Addison. "Did Andie mention the name of the boy who gave her that _bug__bite_ on her neck?"

"No." Addison answers. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Charlotte sticks her hands in her pockets and walks off towards her office, hoping it's not Nicky.

_**Review!**_


	24. Chapter 24  A little deception

**_CHAPTER 24 A Little Deception._**

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky go out for an early dinner at a small restaurant by the water. They picked it because the restaurant has booths against the walls that are surrounded by long strings of beads that hang from the ceiling for privacy. "I bet people come here if they're cheating on each other so nobody can see them." Nicky tells Andie.<p>

"I like it." Andie smiles. "This can be *our place.* Even if my parents came here to eat they'd never see us in this booth."

Nicky looks around. "This is a cool place. I'm glad my buddy from work told me about it."

"How was work?" Andie asks, biting into a roll.

"The guys laughed at me all day because it looks like I got bit by a vampire."

"Oh my God, I had the same problem. I tried to cover it up with makeup but I think that drew more attention to my neck."

"We'll have to make sure we place our love bites lower next time." Nicky suggests.

"How much lower?" Andie asks.

"All the way down. Below the belt."

"Ew! That's nasty."

Nicky laughs. "You have a lot to learn, Belle. I said I'd teach you something new the next time. I'm going to teach you to get down and dirty."

"It sounds gross." Andie sips her lemonade.

"You'll love it, once you try it." He smiles.

Andie zones out for a minute.

"What's wrong?" Nicky asks. "Did the thought of getting down and dirty offend you that much?"

"No, it made me think of my parents."

Nicky laughs. "How does getting down and dirty make you think of your parents?"

"They met each other on an adult sex site."

"Wow, I can't believe they told you that."

"They didn't. I was about twelve and my parents had some friends over for drinks. The adults were loud, Chase and I couldn't sleep so we snuck in the kitchen for some ice cream. We could hear everything the adults were talking about in the living room."

"What did they say?" Nicky's curious.

"Uncle Pete was saying that my dad changed. He was surprised my dad was able to stick with one woman all this time because he used to have sex with a different woman every night that he would meet on adult sex websites."

Nicky laughs. "Who would have thought that about Dr. Freedman?"

"My dad said it was a good thing he used those sites or he would have never hooked up with my momma. He told Uncle Pete that after he hooked up with my mom they used to have dirty sex all the time until "that night.'

"What does he mean by 'that night'?"

"I don't know, he just said that after 'that night' they didn't get down and dirty for a long time. That's what made me think of my parents when you said down and dirty."

"See, Belle, even your parents get down and dirty."

"Ew!" Andie grimaces and waves her hand in front of her face as if she smelt something bad. "I do not want that image in my head."

Nicky laughs and sips his beer.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I have good news." Andie beams.

"What is it, Belle?"

"Danielle's mom owns this horse stable. It has a red barn all the way at the back of the property."

"And, this is good news…how?" Nicky asks.

"Danielle goes there to be alone with Tyler. It has electricity and Danielle left a stereo and little portable fireplace."

"So, Tyler finally became a man?" Nicky asks.

"Yep, he's a man, but he's inexperienced. I had to give Danielle some tips."

"You're not s'posed to kiss and tell, Belle. You're going to give all my secrets away. If Danielle has questions send her to me, I'll teach her." Nicky jokes

"I don't think so, Nicky. If I catch you with another girl I'll make sure Mr. Nick can't get down and dirty ever again."

"Oooh, I like it when you're jealous." Nicky teases. "Don't worry, Belle, you're the only woman I want."

"Good. Because Danielle said we could use the place anytime."

"How about tonight?" Nicky asks.

"Not tonight."

"Why not?"

"Danielle and Tyler are using it tonight and I have to go visit my father at the hospital tonight."

"How about tomorrow night?"

"Okay, tomorrow night's good. Oh and guess what else?"

"Tell me, Belle."

"I'm on the pill. Danielle's mom gave me a prescription for it."

"That's awesome." Nicky says. The waiter serves their meals.

After they eat, Nicky drops Andie off down the street from the hospital so she can visit Cooper. "Hi, daddy." Andie gives Cooper a hug.

"Hey, stranger." Cooper smiles. "I've missed you."

"I'm a busy girl."

"How's school."

"Great." Andie notices the pictures of Cooper's biological mother as a girl on his bedside table. "Is that me?"

"No, pumpkin. I forgot you weren't here the other night when we were all looking at the pictures. Leslie came to visit and brought these. These are pictures of my biological mother when she was a girl."

"Wow, she looks like me when I was a kid."

Cooper laughs. "What are you talking about? You're still a kid."

"Not really, dad. I'm seventeen."

"That's still a kid to me." Cooper replies. "Anyway, Leslie said to pick out any pictures I might want to keep. I like these because they remind me of you. Oh, and by the way my biological mother has epilepsy which explains your seizure disorder."

Andie nods and looks through the shoebox at all the pictures. "When are you going to see Leslie again?"

"I don't know, she didn't say when she was coming back for the pictures. I was thinking of inviting them all over for dinner once I get better as a thank you for the pictures."

"No, dad, that's crazy."

"Why is it crazy?"

"They're not our family. We didn't grow up calling her Aunt Leslie and I'm not going to start now."

"Nobody said you had to call her Aunt Leslie."

"And Nicky is not my cousin. We didn't grow up that way."

"He is your cousin, Andie. I'm sorry about what happened between you two but he is your cousin whether you like it or not and you can't see him like that again, munchkin."

"I'm not seeing him anymore but I don't think we should join families with them. Think about grandma Mary. That's a slap in the face to her. She raised you."

"I agree with you about that, Grandma Mary would be hurt."

"So, you can't have a brother/sister relationship with Leslie. It's too late for that. Let's go back to the way it was before you found out she was your sister. Let's not talk to them anymore again." Andie tries to convince Cooper.

Charlotte comes in the room. "Hey, Sweet Pea, it's good to see you here." Charlotte hugs Andie. "Are you having a nice visit with your dad?"

"Uh-huh."

The nurse brings Cooper's dinner tray. "Yum dinner." Cooper says.

"I'm going to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. Do you want to come Andie?" Charlotte asks.

"No, thanks, momma. I just ate."

"Where did you eat?"

"Uh, uh, um. I grabbed some fast food." Andie lies.

"Fast food." Cooper pretends to cry. "_MY_ fast food days are long gone."

"That's right, Coop." Charlotte warns. You're fast food days are over. You two enjoy your visit. I'll be back up in a little bit." Charlotte heads to the cafeteria leaving Andie to visit with Cooper.


	25. Chapter 25

**_CHAPTER 25_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte's sitting in Cooper's hospital room going over some paperwork while he naps. Violet pokes her head in the room. "Can I speak to you, Charlotte?"<p>

"Sure." Charlotte gets up and meets Violet outside of Cooper's room.

"What's going on?"

"I'm going to tell you something, Charlotte, and you're not going to like it, but please don't kill me."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's Noah."

Charlotte panics a little. "Is he hurt? What's wrong with Noah?"

"He's fine."

"Then what is it?"

"The school principal called _me_ since you notified her he's staying with me and Pete while Cooper's in the hospital."

"Spit it out, Violet. What did the principal say?"

"Noah cut out of English and Math today."

"Why would he do that? English is his favorite subject and he loves math."

"He cut out to go to the beach with some other kids. They were caught with beer. Some kids were smoking marijauna but the principal said Noah wasn't one of them."

Charlotte's mouth drops open. "Oh my God, my son's a hooligan. I raised him to be a hooligan."

"Noah's a good kid, Charlotte. He's not a hooligan. He was only drinking beer. He wasn't one of the kids caught smoking the marijuana."

"He was _only_ drinking beer, Violet? He's fourteen. Good kids don't cut school to drink beer on the beach. I screwed him up somehow." Charlotte runs her fingers through her hair.

"You didn't screw him up and if it's any conciliation, Lila cut out of class too. She was one of the other kids that were caught drinking beer at the beach."

"That doesn't surprise me." Charlotte says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Violet asks.

"Never mind. Where are they now?"

"They're at in school suspension."

"You know what, Violet. Send the boys home tonight."

"I knew you'd blame me for this." Violet says.

"I don't blame you. The kids haven't been home in almost two weeks since Cooper's been at the hospital. Cooper's doing better; I should really stay at my house now with the kids. They need me at home more now than Cooper needs me at his bedside. Send 'em home tonight and Scout too."

"I'll have Pete drop them off when he gets home from work tonight."

"Thanks, Violet. I really do appreciate you taking care of them while Coop was in the hospital."

"That's what friends are for." Violet smiles and walks away.

Charlotte turns to walk back in Cooper's room when her phone buzzes. She notices it's Drew's kindergarten teacher so she answers. "Is Drew okay?"

"Drew's fine but I'd like to set up a conference with you to talk about how Drew's been doing in class." The teacher says.

"Is there a problem or is this a standard conference." Charlotte asks.

"I'd like to discuss some issues I'm having in the classroom with Drew."

"What kind of issues?"

"He's extremely active to the point the point where he's disruptive to the other children, I'd like to discuss some behavior strategies with you that I think will help Drew."

"I can come in today around four." Charlotte suggests.

"That's perfect, Dr. King. I'll see you at four."

Charlotte goes back in Cooper's room and gets back to her paper work. Jolie waltzes in a few minutes later. "Do you still need me and Cole to keep Drew? I know Sheldon and Amelia had a hard time with him but give him one week at my house and he'll be a new kid."

"As a matter of fact, I'm going to go home tonight. I want all the kids to be home with me."

"Is that because of what happened at the middle school today? I heard a group of kids cut out of class and were drinking beer at the beach. Was Noah one of them?" Jolie asks.

Charlotte nods but doesn't say anything. She's glad Cooper's still asleep and didn't hear about it. Jolie tells Charlotte, "I'm so glad Cole Jr. and Marley didn't get involved with that. They know better."

Cooper wakes up.

"Good afternoon." Jolie smiles at him.

"So, I hear Drew is going to be staying with you for a while." Cooper says to Jolie.

"There's been a change of plans. I'm going to stay home tonight with the kids." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Why?"

"They haven't been home in two weeks, Coop. You're doing much better. I need to get the kids home so they can sleep in their own beds again."

"I'll miss you." Cooper makes a pout face "But, the kids need you."

"Kids need structure." Jolie tells Cooper." Once you break their routine all chaos happens like what happened today at the beach."

"What happened at the beach?" Cooper asks.

Charlotte answers. "Some kids from the middle school cut class and were caught drinking beer and smoking weed on the beach."

"Any kids we know?" Cooper asks. Charlotte shoots Jolie a warning glare, Jolie picks up on it.

"Lila Wilder." Jolie answers.

"That doesn't surprise me." Cooper chuckles.

"Why doesn't that surprise you?" Jolie asks.

"She's Violet and Pete's daughter. What do you expect? Pete used to smoke weed."

"I'm glad my kids weren't involved with that." Jolie tells Cooper.

Cooper smiles and says, "I'm glad Noah wasn't involved either. We have good kids. We must be doing something right."

Jolie shoots Charlotte a look. Charlotte rolls her eyes. "I better get things ready if the kids are all coming home tonight. Charlotte kisses Cooper goodbye but doesn't say anything to Jolie as she leaves.

Charlotte fixes chicken cutlet for dinner and the kids all sit around the table to eat. "Why did we have to come home tonight if dad's still in the hospital? Shouldn't you stay with daddy, momma?" Andie asks.

"Your father is doing much better. He's stabile. They're just keeping him in the hospital now to monitor him while his heart gets stronger. I wanted to have a talk with you kids before your father comes home from the hospital."

"What did you want to talk about?" Andie asks.

"Your father cannot be stressed out when he comes home. We need to keep this house quiet and in order. That means you all have to help out. I don't want to hear you bickering or fighting with each other and I don't want any more phone calls from the principal," she looks at Noah, "or the teacher," she looks at Drew.

"I'm sorry about that, momma." Noah explains. "I didn't know they were going to bring beer or weed."

"Then, why did you drink it?"

"I would have looked like a nerdy loser if I was the only one not drinking it, but I didn't smoke the weed, I said I'd pass."

Charlotte lectures him. "You shouldn't have cut out of class and went to the beach in the first place. If you weren't there you couldn't have looked like a loser for not drinking beer. Why would you cut class and go with them to the beach?"

Chase answers. "Because, Noah has a crush on Lila and he was trying to impress her."

"Shut up!" Noah yells at Chase.

"Whatsa' matter little bro did I hit a nerve? You know I'm right. You're in love with Lila."

"Shut up moron!" Noah yells at Chase.

"Enough!" Charlotte raises her voice. "This bickering can't happen when your father gets home from the hospital, so y'all better figure out a way to get along."

Drew bounces back and forth in his seat. He falls forward and hits his mouth on the table. "Are you okay, Squirt?"

"Yes, momma."

"No you're not." Andie says. "Your mouth is bleeding, Drew."

Charlotte takes a look. "You have a little cut on your lip." Charlotte gives Drew a cold wet washcloth to hold against his lip.

"Does he need stitches, momma?" Noah asks concerned.

"He doesn't need stitches, he needs to calm down and sit still." Charlotte tells Drew. "I spoke to your teacher, Drew; she says you keep getting up out of your seat when you're supposed to be practicing writing your letters."

"I don't like writing my letters. It's hard."

"Your big sister will help you with that. Andie's got excellent handwriting."

"Thank you, momma," Andie smiles. "I'll help the squirt learn to write his letters."

Charlotte tells Drew, "you have to listen to your teacher and you have to try and sit still."

Chase tells Charlotte. "I don't think he can help it, momma, he's hyperactive."

"He's not hyperactive." Charlotte answers. "He's just a rambunctious five year old boy."

Chase rolls his eyes. "Whatever you need to think to make it through the day, momma."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Charlotte asks Chase.

"It means Drew's hyper, momma." Andie answers. "You're in denial."

"And where did you get your medical degree from, smart ass?" Charlotte says to Andie.

"Ooh! Momma said a bad word. She said smart ass! " Drew yells out.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Charlotte apologizes. "I'm under a lot of stress with work and with your father being in the hospital. I just want you kids to help me out and behave. I don't need anything else on my plate right now."

"We'll help out, momma." Chase gives Charlotte a little kiss on the head.

"Thanks Chase I needed that." Charlotte smiles.

"K, then," Andie gives Charlotte a hug and a kiss on the cheek followed by Noah. "I promise I won't cut class anymore, momma. I'll be the perfect student."

"Thank you," Charlotte has tears in her eyes.

"I'll be good too, momma." Drew jumps up on Charlotte's lap and gives her a big hug and kiss.

Charlotte wipes a tear from her cheek. "How did I get so lucky?" Charlotte asks them.

"What do you mean, momma?" Noah asks.

"I'm lucky to have the four best kids in the world." She hugs Drew tight and smiles at her other three children.


	26. Chapter 26

**_CHAPTER 26_**

* * *

><p>Noah's walking in the school corridor with about one hundred other students. Someone grabs him from behind and covers his eyes. "Guess who?" A female voice says. Noah wonders. He expects it to be Lila but it's definitely not her voice. "Say it again?" Noah tells the girl. "Oh my God! You really don't know who I am?"<p>

"Marley?" Noah pulls her hands off of his eyes.

"Ha! Ha! We got ya." Lila laughs.

"I wasn't expecting Marley to do something like that." Noah smirks.

"What? I can be fun. " Marley says in a defensive tone. "Just because I'm an A student doesn't mean I don't know how to have a good time."

Lila tells Lucas. "We're cutting out next period and going back to the beach. Wanna come?"

"We just got suspension for doing that the other day. My momma will hang my head if I do it again." Noah answers.

"We only got caught because that geek Nathan blabbed to everyone that we were there. We made sure Nathan doesn't know about it this time." Lila tells him.

"I can't go." Noah explains. "I have an English quiz next period. My mother will find out if I miss the quiz."

"I'm good at fording handwriting." Marley tells him. "I'll write a note and sign your mother's name."

"Nah. I studied all night for this test. I wanna take it." Noah answers.

Two boys walk up and tell them. "Are you ready to go? We got beer and some kid said he would bring weed."

"We'll be right there." Lila tells the boys. "Meet you outside."

"We're going to start walking so we don't get caught." One boy tells her.

"Okay we're coming." Lila says and follows them.

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Noah?" Marley asks.

"I can't believe _you're _going." Noah says to Marley.

"I can be fun." Marley tells him before she catches up with Lila. Noah walks off to class by himself.

"I know why you're coming this time." Lila tells her.

"Why?"

"Cause you like Noah. I know you're trying to impress him and make him think you're not a goody goody smart geek."

"We better not get caught or my parents will kill me." Marley tells her and they walk off the school grounds.

Noah texts Charlotte as the bell rings. "Lila + Marley r going 2 beach 4 beer and weed. I'm still at school want u 2 no." He sends it.

"Noah Freedman you know better. You're not allowed to use your phone at school."

"Sorry ma'am." Noah tells the teacher.

"Get to class, Noah!" The teacher firmly orders. Noah runs off to his English class, Charlotte reads the text.

* * *

><p>"Hmmm." Charlotte sits at Cooper's bedside and mumbles to herself. "I can not wait until Jolie finds out."<p>

"What's that?" Cooper asks

"Noah texted me that Lila and Marley are cutting class and going to the beach to drink beer."

"What about Noah?"

"He's not going."

"See, we raised our kids right." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"I can't wait for Jolie to find out her kids make mistakes too. Should I call and tell her or let her find out from the school?"

"Call her." Cooper says. "I would want someone to call us if our kids did something like that." He smiles at Charlotte.

Charlotte calls Jolie.

* * *

><p><em>***Warning for those who don't like Andie and Nicky-Andie and Nicky in this section.***<em>

Danielle drops Andie off at the horse stable. Andie walks to the back of the property and inside the barn. Nicky has it set up with candles. The electric fireplace is on. He hands her a glass of wine. "Hello Belle."

"Wow, this is really nice." Andie looks around at all the candles he has set up and lit around the barn.

Nicky picks up a guitar and starts strumming.

"Did you write something for me?" Andie sits down on a hay bale with her glass of wine.

"I started to write one for you but it's still a work in progress so I'm going to sing you one of my favorite old classics."

"I love classics." Andie rubs her hands together. She can't wait to hear what he's going to sing to her.

Nicky starts to play "Amazed" by Lone star for her. She sits down on a hay bale with her glass of wine.

Nicky starts singing to her as he plays his guitar. "~_Every __time __our __eyes __meet~~...__~~This __feeling __inside __me~..~__is __more __than __I __can __take~~...__~~Belle, __when __you __touch __me~~...~~I __can __feel __how __much __you __love __me~~...~~__and __it __just __blows __me __away...~~~_" He sings on.

Andie sips her wine and feels the tears in her eyes. After the song is over, Nicky puts his guitar down and joins her on the hay bale. "You're crying. Was it that bad?" He asks.

She wraps her arms around him. "Thank you, nobody's ever sang to me like that before, besides my dad when he plays the piano."

Nicky laughs. "I didn't mean to remind you of your dad. That's not the effect I was going for."

She starts kissing him. She breaks the kiss and tells him "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Look what else I brought." Nicky pulls out a box of strawberries dipped in chocolate and a spray can of whipped cream.

"I'm not in the mood to eat right now." She tells him and gets back to kissing him.

He runs a chocolate strawberry across her mouth and then sticks it in his. She bites the other end until they swish the strawberry around in each others mouths. After they finish, Nicky pulls Andie's dress off. Andie's not wearing a bra or panties tonight. Nicky sprays her breasts with the whipped cream and licks it off. "You get the idea, Belle?" He asks.

"Got it." Andie pulls his shirt and pants off and sprays his chest with the whipped cream and licks it off. She moves down his body until she sprays Mr Nick with whipped cream.

"You don't have to spray Mr. Nick unless you want." Nicky tells her.

"Mr. Nick is the best part." Andie tells him. After a few minutes, Nicky pulls her up and kisses her mouth. He sprays the whipped cream down her body. He takes his time licking it off between her legs. "Nicky, I can't take it anymore, I need you."

Nicky laughs and kisses her mouth again. He moves in position.

"Wait. Where's the condom?" Andie asks

"I thought you said you were taking the pill now?"

"I am but my momma and Addison said to still use a condom cuz of STD's."

"Let me give you a tip. Never talk about your parents before sex, it kills the moment."

"Sorry, Nicky, but you've been with other girls and I don't want...-"

Nicky interrupts. "Belle, you've seen Mr Nick up close. Does he look like he has any STD's?"

"No."

"You'll be my first time without using a condom, Belle."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Then, yes, yes, yes! Let's do it!" Andie smiles and kisses him on the lips. Nicky slides into her and moves fast and hard. It doesn't take long at all this time before they're screaming and moaning in ecstasy. After they're done, Nicky tells her "That was awesome."

"It was," Andie agrees. "It felt different in a good way."

"Hell, yeah! It was definitely better." Nicky rests his head on Andie's chest.

"I can't wait to do it again." Andie tells him.

"You didn't have to eat Mr. Nick, if you think it's dirty and gross."

"I wanted to do it for you. I wanted to make you feel good." Andie sighs and lets out a high pitched moan.

"Thank you, Belle. It felt super amazing." All the sudden, Nicky feels Andie's body shaking under him. "What are you doing now, Belle?" He looks at her and can tell she's seizing. "Oh my God," he says. "Belle, are you okay?" Andie continues to shake.

Nicky calls 911, ""I need help" He tells the operator "My girlfriend is having a seizure." The operator asks where he is. "We're at the Ross Stables in the red barn at the back of the property." The operator asks if Andie's breathing. "Yes, she's breathing but she's having a seizure, a bad one." The operator tells him to make sure her airway is clear and that her tongue doesn't block it. She tells him an ambulance is on the way. Nicky checks Andie's breathing and then covers her with a blanket he finds on the floor. He calls Chase.

"Yeah?" Chase answers.

"It's Nicky. Listen to me. I'm at the barn house behind the Ross Stables. Andie's having a bad seizure."

"Call 911!" Chase tells him.

"I did, they're on the way, but what should I do? We're not supposed to be together. Your father will have another heart attack if he finds out and I don't even know if this is legal. I'm twenty and Andie's seventeen. Is that legal? Can your parents charge me with statutory rape?"

"I have no idea." Chase says. "How's my sister doing?"

"She's still seizing. I hear the ambulance sirens! They're coming!"

"I'll meet you guys up at the ER." Chase tells him. Nicky hangs up the phone.

"Sorry, Belle. I gotta get out of here before the paramedics come." Nicky grabs his guitar and runs to his car. He lights up a cigarette and waits for the ambulance to pull up and the medics run into the barn, before driving away.

* * *

><p><strong><em>REVIEW =)<em>**


	27. Chapter 27

**_CHAPTER 27- _**

* * *

><p>Charlotte's resting in Cooper's hospital bed, alongside Cooper. They're watching TV with Noah and Drew. She gets a text from Chase telling her to go to the ER, that Andie's having a seizure. Charlotte tells Cooper and the boys she has a hospital emergency and rushes off to the ER.<p>

Chase arrives at the ER and greets Charlotte. "What happened?" Charlotte asks him.

"I don't know. I got a text from an unknown caller that said Andie was having a seizure and I should meet the ambulance here." Chase bends the truth so he doesn't have to involve Nicky.

"Do you think it's a prank?" Charlotte asks him.

"No." Chase tells her as he watches the paramedics rush Andie in on a stretcher. She's unconscious and still seizing. Marisa's the neurologist on call, she starts administering anti seizure drugs into the IV the paramedics put in.

Charlotte rushes over to the stretcher. "Are you her mother?" A police officer asks Charlotte.

"Yes." Charlotte looks at the officer.

"We're going to need some information." The officer pulls Charlotte to the side. "The paramedics called us because they found your daughter alone in a remote area with no clothing on, seizing. Do you know why she would be alone in a remote area?"

"Where was she?" Charlotte swallows and waits for the answer.

"She was in a barn in a secluded area of the Ross Stables."

"I don't know why she would be there." Charlotte tells the officer.

A nurse comes out and hands the police officer a piece of paper. The officer tells Charlotte, "We're having the nurses check your daughter for evidence of sexual assault. This report says that your daughter recently had intercourse. There's no evidence of trauma. They took a semen specimen from her but we'll wait until we talk to your daughter before we run it to find out if it was consensual sex."

"Oh my God! Do you think my daughter was sexually assaulted?" Charlotte's horrified.

"That's what we're trying to find out ma'am. She was nude and alone when they found her, which is suspicious."

Charlotte feels herself start to tremble.

"We have a team at the barn now, investigating the scene, ma'am."

"Thank you." Charlotte answers before taking a deep breath.

Marisa comes out to tell Charlotte. "We have the seizure under control. Andie's postictal and sleeping now."

"The police think she may have been assaulted, Marisa. The paramedics found her all alone, with no clothes on."

"I'm sorry." Marisa hugs Charlotte. The two of them sit together for about an hour quietly by Andie's bedside until she wakes up.

"Are you okay, Andie?" Charlotte jumps up as soon as she notices Andie open her eyes.

"What happened?" Andie looks around her hospital room.

"You had a grand mal seizure." Marisa tells her. "Have you been taking your seizure meds?"

"I forgot to take it a couple times this week." Andie rubs her head.

"Why?" Marisa asks. "You've been so good at taking it all these years. Why would you start forgetting to take it all the sudden?"

Andie sighs. "I'm on the birth control pill now. I normally take my Tegretol every morning before breakfast but now I take my birth control pill every morning instead." Andie tells Marisa, she's aware Charlotte's also listening."You're not supposed to take those pills at the same time, so I take my Tegretol with dinner now. Sometimes, I forget because I either skip dinner or I'm just not used to taking it at dinner time."

"It's important that you try harder to remember." Marisa warns her. "Try taking it before bed every night."

"Did anyone hurt you?" Charlotte asks Andie.

"No, why?" Andie looks at Charlotte strange.

Charlotte talks to Andie in a gentle voice. "The paramedics found you all alone in a barn. You had no clothes on. The police are investigating it. They took a semen sample."

Andie jolts up in bed. "Tell the police to stop investigating!"

"Why?" Marisa asks.

"I'm on the pill." Andie snaps. "I'm not a virgin. Nobody hurt me." Andie snaps at Charlotte. "I can't believe you called the police."

"I didn't call the police." Charlotte deadpans. "The paramedics did because they found you alone with no clothes on in a secluded barn. Care to explain?"

"I don't have to explain!" Andie yells.

Marisa walks out the door, leaving Charlotte alone with Andie.

"Who was it, Andie? Who were you with?" Charlotte demands. "Was it Nicky?"

"No!" Andie snaps. "It wasn't Nicky." Andie lies.

"Then who?"

"None of your business!" Andie growls.

Charlotte's eyes turn fierce, her voice is firm and threatening. "It damn well_ is _my business, you're a minor. As long as you live under my roof and eat my food, I will not tolerate you speakin' to me like this."

Andie looks down at the sheet. "Sorry, momma."

"Now, tell me who the boy is."

"His name is Tim." Andie thinks of the first name to randomly pop in her head.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Not anymore." Andie says

"Why?"

"Cuz he left me alone seizing in the barn after he had sex with me. Is that a good enough reason, momma?"

"Good answer. He doesn't sound like the type of guy you'd wanna keep around. I'm _not_ going to tell your father about this." Charlotte adds. "I'll tell him you had a seizure and you're okay now but I won't tell him about this Tim."

"Thank you, momma."

Chase walks in the room. "How's Andie?"

"I'm just dandy." She says sarcastically to Chase. "Don't you love my hospital gown?"

Charlotte walks towards the door. "I'll leave you in your brother's care while I go back and check on your father and the boys. Drew's probably turned your dad's hospital room upside down by now." Charlotte leaves Chase with Andie.

"You really okay?" Chase asks.

"Uh..huh."

"Nicky called me when you were seizing. He was frantic."

"Where is Nicky?"

"He's at home. He keeps texting me to see if you're okay."

"Why did he leave me alone?"

"He didn't leave you alone. He waited until he saw the ambulance arrive and then he left."

"Why didn't he stay with me until they sent me to the hospital?"

"He was afraid to get caught with you. He told me he was worried dad would have another heart attack if he found out about you two."

"I see. I'll call him in a few minutes."

"You're playing with fire, Andie." Chase warns her.

"Why?"

"You guys almost got caught tonight. Sooner or later, momma and dad are going to find out, if dad has another heart attack, I'll never forgive you."

"Dad has a cholesterol problem, Chase. His heart attack wasn't my fault."

"The stress makes it worse, Andie, and you stressed dad out."

"If you don't have anything nice to say to me, you could leave now." Andie tells Chase.

Chase walks out the door. Andie texts Nicky. _"i'm ok. where r u?"_

Nicky texts back "_home. glad ur ok. Belle, i'm amazed by u."_

Andie reads the text and goes back to sleep, thinking about Nicky playing the guitar and singing to her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>REVIEW =)<em>**


	28. Chapter 28

**_CHAPTER 28_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte wheels Cooper into Andie's hospital room. Andie's eating breakfast. "Hey that's not fair," Cooper whines. "You get bacon and eggs with butter on toast and all I get is oatmeal with fruit and yogurt."<p>

"You can have my bacon, daddy. I don't want it. It's not crisp like you make it at home."

"No, daddy can _not_ have your bacon. He's not allowed to eat that stuff anymore." Charlotte tells Andie.

"Momma, doctor Marisa came by this morning. She said I can go home today."

"I know." Charlotte answers. "She called me."

"That's not fair either," Cooper whines playfully. "You just came in last night and you get to go home already. I've been here over two weeks."

"That's because I'm good, daddy. I had the seizure because I forgot to take my Tegretol. There's nothing else they need to do with me in the hospital. I just have to remember to take my Tegretol everyday."

"Please do. You're lucky you only inherited the epilepsy from my side of the family and not the bad cholesterol gene. You don't have to watch what you eat like I do." Cooper watches Andie eat her eggs.

Andie asks. "If you did genetic testing before I was born would you still get pregnant if you knew there was a chance I could have epilepsy or a gene for a cholesterol problem?"

"Course." Charlotte answers immediately. "It doesn't make you any less valuable a person because you have epilepsy or your father less valuable because of his cholesterol problem."

"Why would you even ask us a question like that Andie?" Cooper continues, "Your mother and I love you and would never not want you because you have epilepsy."

"I'm just asking if you knew before hand there was a chance I could be born with epilepsy would you still get pregnant?"

"Absolutely!" Charlotte tells her. "You live a good happy life, don't you, Andie?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't understand where this line of questioning is coming from?" Charlotte looks at her daughter.

"I couldn't sleep last night. I was just thinking about it."

"It comes from boredom from being stuck in the hospital. There's not much to do but look at TV and think." Cooper replies from his wheelchair.

"They're talking about discharging you at the end of the week, Coop." Charlotte informs.

"You know the first thing I want to do when I get home?" Cooper asks.

"What?"

"I want to throw a party."

"Cooper?"

"I missed Andie's seventeenth birthday because I was in the hospital. I want to celebrate it."

"I didn't celebrate my birthday this year, daddy. It didn't feel right celebrating when you were so sick."

"We'll we're celebrating when I get home." Cooper's eyes light up.

Charlotte suggests. "Let's just do something quiet this year with the family."

"I want Andie's friends to be there and we'll invite Leslie. I want to try and get to know her better since she's family."

* * *

><p>Chase is in the lunchroom at school. He notices the new girl, Tess Powers, sitting alone. He plops down next to her. Tess is a petite blonde with a southern accent. "Hi." Chase smiles at her. "Can I sit here?"<p>

"You can sit wherever you want. I don't own the cafeteria." Tess continues eating her lunch.

"So, how do you like our school?" Chase tries to make conversation.

"I hate it." Tess continues to eat.

"Why?"

"I just do."

"Where are you from?" Chase asks.

"Atlanta, Georgia."

"Why did you move to LA?"

"My dad's company transferred him here. He makes more money here."

"That's good."

"No it isn't." Tess scowls at Chase. "I already told you I hate it here."

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm just trying to get to know you." Chase smiles.

"Why?"

"Because I see you eating lunch alone everyday and I figured you'd like some company."

"I eat by myself because I don't have any friends here. My friends are all in Georgia."

"Why don't you try to make some new friends here?"

"The people here are all stuck up. They're not like my friends in Georgia."

"Am I stuck up?" Chase asks.

"No. You're the exception."

"I can be your friend then."

"What's your problem?" Tess looks him up and down.

"I don't have a problem." Chase tells her.

"Then why don't _you_ have any friends?"

"I have lots of friends."

"Then, why aren't you sittin' with them? Why are you sittin' with me?"

"I told you because I see you sitting alone everyday. I thought it would be nice if I sat with you."

"Are you always this nice?"

"Shhh! Don't tell anybody." Chase smiles.

Tess laughs.

"My momma's from Alabama." Chase tells her.

"No kiddin'?"

"No kiddin'." Chase responds.

"Where about in Alabama?"

"Monroesville." Chase answers.

"That's where Harper Lee is from she wrote *To Kill A...-"

"...Mockinbird." Chase finishes the sentence. That's my momma's favorite book. We even named our dog Scout after the book."

"We have to read it this year, you know." Tess tells Chase. "It's part of the tenth grade required reading material."

"I know. My sister had to read it last year. You're supposed to have a reading partner to read it with and then write a report together."

"Did you pick a reading partner yet?" Tess asks.

"No, but my sister saved her book report from last year so if you want to be my reading partner we could cheat, instead of having to read the whole book." Chase smirks.

"I'll be your reading partner." Tess says. "But, not to cheat. I plan on reading the whole book but I would like to look at your sister's paper to get an idea of what they expect at this school."

"Okay." Chase nods. "They're not passing the books out in class until next month but we already have a copy at home. Do you want to come over next week and look at my sisters' paper? Maybe we can get a jump on reading it before the rest of the class."

"Definitely." Tess nods.

"Have you gone to the Santa Monica Pier yet since you moved to LA?"

"No."

"You have to go. I can take you there Friday after school, if you want."

"No."

"Why not?" Chase asks.

"Because, I don't want your pity."

"What?" Chase looks confused.

"I'm not some charity case. I know you just feel sorry for me because I don't have any friends or a reading partner."

"That's not true." Chase tells her. "I like you."

"You don't even know me."

"That's the point of taking you to the Pier to get to know you better."

"And if I go to the pier with you and you don't like me," Tess asks. "Then who will I do the book report on *To Kill A Mockingbird* with?"

"I'll still be your reading partner and do the book report with you even if I don't like you." He holds his little finger out. "I pinky swear."

Tess twists her little finger with Chase's "Fine, I'll go with you to the pier."

"You make it sound like I'm taking you to get your teeth pulled or something."

Tess laughs and they finish eating their lunch together.

* * *

><p><strong><em>REVIEW =)<em>**


	29. Chapter 29

**_Did y'all watch Private Practice last night? I won't give it away if anyone didn't see it yet but we finally got some interesting Charlotte back story-wow! Enjoy this chapter!_**

**_CHAPTER 29_**

* * *

><p>Chase meets Tess at the entrance to the pier. Tess's wearing a blue tight dress and heels. Her straight blonde hair reaches her shoulders. Her long bangs swoop to the side.<p>

"How did you get here?" Chase asks as he approaches her.

"My brother dropped me off. He's picking me up at ten."

"Didn't he want to meet me?" Chase asks.

"Uh…no…why would he want to do that?"

"You look nice." Chase tells her

"Thanks."

Chase chuckles and tells Tess, "I should have warned you not to wear heels to the Pier. It's like wearing heels to the carnival."

"I'm not an idiot, Chase. I've passed by the Pier a dozen times. I know it's like a carnival."

Chase shrugs it off. "What kind of rides do you like? They have a roller coaster, a ferris wheel, a scrambler."

"I'm up for anything." Tess says. "The more dangerous the more I like it." Tess points to the Pacific Plunger. "How high does that go up?" She asks Chase.

"That ride goes up about nine stories and then it drops you." Chase tells her. He's been to the pier enough times since he was a kid to know all the rides.

"I wanna go on that one."

"You have to try the Pacific Coaster. It's my momma's favorite ride."

"Are you here with your momma or me?"

Chase is taken back by that. "With... you." He answers quietly.

"So, why do you wanna go on your momma's favorite ride if you're with me?"

"I was just sayin'...- we don't have to go on it."

"It's okay we can go on it. I just don't want to hang out with a dude who talks about his momma all the time. Momma's boys are pathetic."

Chase swallows. He doesn't know how to answer. So he changes the subject. "I'm studying for my drivers test. If I was driving already then I could have picked you up." They walk along the pier and stop to buy tickets for the rides they want to go on.

"When do you turn sixteen?" Tess asks.

"Next month." Chase takes the tickets and they continue to walk.

"I turned sixteen two months ago. I just moved here so I haven't had a chance to take the driving test yet." Tess tells him. "We'll see who gets their license first."

"I've was practicing every day with my dad until he went in the hospital two weeks ago."

Tess teases him,"I can teach you after I get my license." Then she stops and asks, " why's your dad in the hospital?"

"He had a heart attack and had to have major heart surgery."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, he's coming home from the hospital tomorrow. Do you just want to go on the Pacific wheel first since it's right here and there's no line?" Chase asks.

"Okay." Tess nods.

"Hey Chase!" Lila comes running over. "Do you want to hang out with us?" She points to Marley, Cole Jr. and Noah who are playing the long range basketball throw game.

"Sorry, but I'm hanging out with Tess tonight."

"Oh." Lila looks Tess over. "Are you on a date?"

Chase looks at Tess, he's not sure if they're on a date or if they're just hanging out as friends, he decides to play it safe. "We're just friends."

Tess's face falls a little. She turns away not to let it show.

"You and your friend can hang out with us." Lila tells him.

"We want to go on the Pacific wheel. Maybe we'll run into you later."

"Okay. Meet up with you later." Lila runs back over to Noah and the other kids.

"Who was that?" Tess asks.

"Lila, she's a friend."

"She likes you." Tess tells him as they board their bucket seat of the Ferris Wheel.

"She's only thirteen besides my younger brother likes her so that wouldn't be cool." The ride starts moving.

"How do you know her?" Tess asks, watching Lila from the top of the Pacific wheel.

"We've known each other since we were babies. My parents and her parents are best friends."

"I still think she has a crush on you. I could tell."

"Well, I don't like her, not in that way. I like older women." He winks at her since she told him she turned sixteen already. She's three months older than him.

"You're looking for a cougar?" Tess teases him.

"Yeah sure." Chase shrugs and looks over at the sunset. "Isn't that wild?"

"What the sunset?" Tess looks over at it too. "It's awesome."

"Yeah." Chase agrees.

"Not just the sunset but it's awesome bein' here with you to watch it with." Tess tells him, her southern drawl more noticeable now that she's allowing herself to relax a bit.

"Really?" Chase asks. "You think I'm awesome?" Chase winks at her to lighten the moment. He's feeling a little overwhelmed that this gorgeous hot girl thinks he's awesome.

"I think it's awesome that you can wink. When my brother and I were little we used to try and wink but we could never do it right. We looked like cyclopses when we tried."

Chase laughs. "I don't have to try. Remind me to teach you when you come over next week." He winks at her again.

"You're adorable when you do that."

Chase moves closer to Tess. He wants so bad to kiss her but he's afraid how she'll react so they sit close and watch the sun set from the Ferris wheel.

* * *

><p>Noah wins a prize from the basketball throw game. "You just got lucky, man." Cole Jr. tells him.<p>

"Noah's on the school basketball team. He should have won for shooting hoops." Lila informs.

"Oh…how cute?" Cole Jr. teases. "Noah picked out a teddy bear for his prize."

"It's not for me." Noah hands the teddy bear to Marley while Lila's face falls to a frown.

"Thank you." Marley beams. Marley has long wavy dark hair and looks just like her mother Jolie.

"Can I talk to you a minute?" Lila pulls Noah to the side.

"What?" Noah asks.

"Why did you give that bear to Marley?" Lila asks. "Do you like her or something?"

"I had to pick between the two of you. I wasn't about to give it to Cole."

"Why'd you pick her?"

"I don't know, I just did." Noah shrugs. "If it bothers you so much, I'll play hoops again and win something for you."

"It doesn't bother me. I was just wondering why you picked her over me? Do you like her?"

"Maybe a little."

"I thought so." Lila marches off back to the game area. Noah follows her. "You can't be mad at me, Lila, I like who I like and besides you have a crush on Chase. Everyone knows that."

"Chase is here with some hot blonde girl." Lila shoots.

"Really? Chase has a date? Finally, I was beginning to wonder about him." Noah smirks.

"There they are!" Lila points. "They're getting off the Pacific wheel now."

Noah looks her over. "You weren't joking. She's is hot."

Lila pouts and walks away from Noah. "Wait up, Lila." Noah follows her back to where Marley is standing with her twin Cole. Marley gives Noah a hug.

"Why'd you do that?" Noah asks.

"Cuz, you won me the bear, c'mon." Marley grabs Noah's hand and leads him to the Ferris wheel.

"I hate this night." Lila tells Cole Jr.. The two of them continue playing games, trying to win something.

It gets close to ten pm. Chase shares a funnel cake and an icee with Tess while they wait for her brother to pick her up. "Here he is." Tess tells Chase. "Do you need a ride home?" Tess asks hopeful.

"Lila's dad is picking us up in a few minutes." Noah notices Tess's smile fall. "On second thought why do I want to hang out with a bunch of thirteen year olds? I'll ride home with you." Chase texts Lila that he found another ride home.

Lila pouts when she reads the text and doesn't bother to text Chase back.

Tess sits in the passenger seat while Chase sits alone in the backseat as Tess's brother drives them home. They tell her brother about the Santa Monica pier. Tess's brother pulls up to the Freedman house and Chase gets out. Tess opens up her car door and gets out too.

"What are you doing?" Chase asks.

"I'm walking you to the door." Tess tells him.

"Oh. I never had a girl walk me to the door before." He never actually went out with a girl before.

"Maybe when you get your license you can drive me home and walk me to my door." Tess grabs his hand and tells him.

Chase swallows. "I can't wait for that day."

They reach the front steps. Tess surprises Chase when she suddenly presses her lips into his. Her lips are soft on his. She lets her lips linger on his until he kisses her back softly. This is new for Chase, his first kiss and he was caught by surprise.

"Thank you." Chase says after the kiss and then realizes that might have sounded dumb or desperate. He's too nervous to think of anything else to say so he just says, "I'll see you at school Monday."

"See you at school." Tess pulls him in one more time and gives him another kiss of the same type, this one lasting a few seconds longer. After she breaks the kiss she says "bye" and tries to wink as she walks away.

Chase can't help but smile at her attempt to wink at him. He walks in the front door. "Oooooh! Chase has a girlfriend." Andie teases. "What's her name?"

"You were watching?" Chase asks Andie.

"Me and momma were looking out the window to see who that strange car was that pulled in the driveway. We saw you get out with that girl and kiss her."

"She kissed me." Chase tells Andie. "Momma saw?'

"Yep."

Charlotte walks in the room smiling. "Something you want to tell us, Chase?"

"Not really."

"What's her name?"

"Tess. She just moved here last week from Georgia. I met her at school."

"She's from Georgia? I like her already." Charlotte tells him. "Your father's coming home tomorrow so make sure you don't make a mess. I want the house looking good when he comes home from the hospital."

"Yes, momma." Chase calls out to Charlotte as she walks back into the kitchen.

Chase joins Andie on the couch to watch a movie and eat some popcorn. "Where's Nicky tonight?"

"His band had to play at a wedding tonight so I got to hang out with momma and Drew."

"That's cool."

"No." Andie munches her popcorn. "We were cleaning the house all night, even though the house was already clean to start with." Andie rolls her eyes.

Chase laughs. "Momma just wants daddy to know she can handle things without him. She wants us and the house to be in perfect order when dad gets home."

"Why does she want him to think that? What is she so worried about?" Andie asks.

Noah walks in the door. "Boy… is Lila mad at you!" Noah tells Chase.

"Why?"

"Cuz, you went home with that hottie you were at the pier with."

"So, what's the big deal. We're friends." Chase shrugs.

"Looked like you were more than just friends to me by that kiss, no, I mean those kisses." Andie teases Chase.

"You kissed her?" Noah asks.

"She kissed me." Chase boasts. "Twice."

"Ohhh….Lila's going to be so mad. She likes you."

Chase answers while eating popcorn. "Lila's only thirteen. I'm going to be sixteen next month. It would be like robbing the cradle if I liked her."

Andie answers. "No it's not. Nicky's three years older than me. Age shouldn't matter."

"Aha!" Noah calls out. "I thought you were still seeing him."

"I'm not." Andie lies to her younger brother. "I was just sayin' when we were seeing each other it didn't matter to me that he was three years older."

"But it's different if it's a thirteen year old and a sixteen year old." Chase explains. "Thirteen is a baby compared to a sixteen year old. It's sick to even think of a thirteen year old dating a sixteen year old."

"Lila has a crush on you." Andie teases. "Can't a little girl dream?"

Chase shrugs and tells Noah. "Look at it this way, if Lila is mad at me, maybe she'll like you now."

"I like Marley."

"You like Marley?" Andie asks. "Why? Marley is a mini Jolie."

"She's hot and nice, I like her." Noah shrugs. "She's a lot of fun."

"Mom's not going to like that." Andie teases. "You're going to have to sneak around if you date her."

"We're not dating. I just said I like her."

"Does she like you?" Chase asks.

"I think so. She hugged me and held my hand after I won her a teddy bear."

Chase high fives his little brother, then says. "I bet Lila didn't like that."

"Lila was okay with it until you texted her you were getting a ride home with that hottie. Then her horns came out." Noah tells them. Andie and Chase laugh.

Charlotte comes out of the kitchen. "What are y'all laughing about?"

"Nothing, momma." Chase says.

"Can I watch the movie with you?" Charlotte sits down on the couch.

"Sure." Noah tells his mother and the kids are all suddenly quiet. They all munch on popcorn and watch the movie.

"Why'd y'all get quiet when I came in the room?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know." Andie shrugs. "We just want to watch the movie."

Charlotte sighs and wonders what Cooper would do.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN- I want to give a shout out to all of you! I have the most awesome, wonderful readers/reviewers! =)_**

**_Keep giving me feedback, positive, negative. It keeps me motivated to write for y'all. You all rock! _**


	30. Chapter 30

**_CHAPTER 30_**

* * *

><p>After over two weeks in the hospital, Charlotte takes Cooper home. She helps him through the front door of the house. He's still a little weak and has lost about twelve pounds since his surgery.<p>

"Hey dad." Chase jumps up to help Charlotte assist Cooper walk to the couch.

"Why can't daddy walk by himself?" Five year old Drew asks.

Cooper looks at his youngest son. "I can, your momma and Chase insist on treating me like an invalid."

Charlotte helps Cooper slowly make his way to the couch. "The truth is squirt, your daddy's leg is still sore. Remember I told you they had to take a blood vessel from his leg and move it near his heart?"

"Yes momma."

"Well, it's still healing. It's going to take time and daddy's heart is still healing too. So, you have to be really gentle with daddy until then." Charlotte tells Drew.

Cooper sits slowly down on the couch guarding his chest incision. "I'll be good as new soon, squirt, and then we can play basketball."

"Noah and Chase have been playing basketball with me in the driveway."

"Good." Cooper eases his back against the couch.

"Be a good kid, squirt, and get your daddy a pillow." Charlotte tells Drew.

"Can I get you anything, daddy?" Andie asks.

Cooper jokes. "A cheeseburger and fries would be nice."

"Not happening so don't waste your time dreaming about it." Charlotte raises her eyebrows up at Cooper.

"Then I'll have to dream about you." Cooper raises his eyebrows up and down while flashing Charlotte a sneaky grin.

"You're going to have to dream about me too because you're not ready for any type of physical exertion for at least another six weeks. I don't want you having a heart attack on top of me."

"I wouldn't do that to you again, Chief."

"Ew! Nasty." Noah covers his ears. "You're not supposed to say stuff like that in front of your children."

"Shut up, Noah." Andie's eager for information. "I want to hear this. Did you really have a heart attack on top of mom?"

Charlotte takes a deep breath and looks at Cooper. "That was the first time your father had a heart attack. I was pregnant with you, Andie, and I was scared to death."

"Can we not discuss this right now?" Cooper furrows his brow and looks at Charlotte. "Little ears are listening."

"I want to know what happened." Andie tells Charlotte. "Please momma?"

"We were in the medical records department at St. Ambrose and ...when we were done….uhm…..doing it…your father started breathing heavy. I knew something wasn't right. Lucky Sheldon walked in and got your father to the ER right away. That's when we found out about his cholesterol problem."

"Wow." Andie says. "You two had sex in the medical records department?"

"Nasty. I don't want to hear anymore." Noah leaves the room with a disgusted scowl on his face.

Drew comes in. 'Here's your pillow, daddy."

"Thank you, squirt." Charlotte tells him.

"Let's change the subject." Cooper says as Charlotte sticks the pillow behind his back. "Let's talk about Andie's birthday party."

"Chase's birthday is next month I figured we could combine their parties again since Andie's was last week and we didn't have a celebration for her yet."

"Sounds good to me." Cooper answers.

"I don't want a party this year." Chase says.

"But you're going to be sixteen. That's big." Charlotte tells him.

"For girls, momma. Boys don't have sweet sixteen parties. I'd rather have a car for my birthday." Chase tells them.

"Hey!" Andie protests. "I get a car before Chase. I'm older."

"I've been thinking about that." Cooper says "There wasn't much else to do in the hospital. I want to buy a new car this year and then the two of you could share my old car."

"It's one year old, Cooper. I wouldn't call it an old car." Charlotte smirks.

"The kids know what I mean." Cooper smirks back, "Don't you?"

"Yeah dad," Chase answers "but why do we have to share a car. I'd rather have my own."

"You're only going to have your provisional license anyway, Chase." Charlotte tells him. "You and Andie can share a car until you graduate high school."

"_If_ you even pass the test." Andie teases.

"I'll pass." Chase responds.

Charlotte tells them, "your father and I already discussed it. As long as you both keep your grades up and don't give us any trouble you'll each get a car when you turn eighteen and you graduate high school, for now you can share your dad's _old _car."

"I'm cool with that." Andie smiles.

"Because you only have to wait one more year. I have to wait two." Chase sulks.

"Ha, little brother those are the perks of being the oldest." Andie plops down on the couch next to Cooper.

"Let's discuss the party." Cooper smiles at Andie. "Who should we invite?"

Drew blurts out. "Chase has a pretty girlfriend, let's invite her."

"Really Chase?" Cooper pats his oldest son on the back. "It's about time."

"Don't rush him, Coop. He's just turning sixteen." Charlotte warns.

"I had my first boyfriend when I was sixteen." Andie boasts. They all stare at her. "I'm talking about Tyler. Did you forget I dated Tyler?"

"So, Chase?" Cooper asks. 'What's her name?"

"Tess Powers."

Charlotte's adds. "She's from Georgia."

Cooper looks at Charlotte. "Did you meet her?"

"No. But I saw her from the window."

Cooper chuckles. "Good then we'll all get to meet her at the party."

Chase blushes. The door bell rings. Andie answers it. "Noah, it's Marley!" Andie calls out before showing Marley in.

"How'd you get here, Marley?" Charlotte asks the thirteen year old girl with long dark hair.

"My dad dropped me off on his way to visit Dylan in the hospital."

"Is Dylan having more chemo today?" Cooper asks.

"Yeah, he's bald now." Marley tells them.

"Poor kid." Andie comments.

Noah comes bouncing down the steps. "Hey Marley!" Noah turns to Charlotte. "Marley's going to hang here and study with me today."

"On a Saturday?" Charlotte asks. 'Why don't you kids do something fun today?"

"Like what?" Noah asks.

"I can take them to the mall if daddy lets me borrow his car. There's lots for them to do at the mall. There's a new laser tag place there."

"Do you kids want to do that?" Cooper asks Noah and Marley.

"Sure." Noah answers.

"Can you give me a ride somewhere on the way to the mall?" Chase asks Andie.

"Where to Tess's house?" Andie asks.

Chase blushes.

"Ha! I was right. You do want a ride to Tess's house." Andie gloats.

"Stop teasing and drop your brother off for me, Andie." Charlotte scolds gently.

"Yes, momma." Andie remembers the speech Charlotte gave them about getting along and helping out.

Noah walks up to Charlotte and puts his hand out. "I'm going to need some money if I'm going to the mall, momma."

"How much do you need?"

"Fifty?"

Charlotte gets out her pocketbook. Chase comes over with his hand out. "I need some cash too, momma."

"Fine." Charlotte hands both boys money. Andie comes over. "Not you too?"

"I'm still a minor and living under your roof, you gave money to the boys so it's only fair." Andie tells Charlotte.

"Your brothers wiped me clear out. I don't have any more cash." Charlotte tells Andie.

"Get me my wallet, Andy Candie." Cooper says. Andie does as told. "How much do you need?" Cooper asks.

"Fifty will do." Andie holds her hand out and Cooper places a fifty in it.

"Thanks daddy. I love you." Andie kisses Cooper on the cheek before they leave for the mall.

Charlotte looks at Drew. "What are your plans for the day, Squirt?"

"I'm going to play with Scout in the yard." Drew bounces outside with the dog following him. "C'mon, Scout. Let's race!"

"Looks like it's just you and me." Charlotte sits next to Cooper on the couch and rubs his arm.

"Too bad we can't take advantage of it." Cooper grimaces at the thought of waiting another six weeks to be intimate.

"It's gonna be a while. Your heart has to get stronger before we can even think about it." Charlotte tweaks Cooper on the nose.

"Why did you have to tell the kids I had a heart attack on top of you after sex? They didn't need to know that." Cooper complains.

"Why? Did it make you uncomfortable?" Charlotte asks.

"Most parents are uncomfortable talking about their sex lives in front of their kids, Charlotte. I'm the normal one."

"I'm a sexologist that's what I do. I talk to people about sex."

"But not to your kids about _our_ sex life." Cooper gripes.

"Cooper, I want our kids to be comfortable with their sexuality. I don't want them to be embarrassed to ask us questions or come to us if they have a problem. Remember Naomi and Maya?"

"Yes," Cooper answers. "Maya got pregnant when she was only fifteen."

"I don't want that to happen with our kids. I want them to be comfortable talking to us about sex." Charlotte explains.

Cooper squeezes Charlotte's knee "You're right. It's just weird. I could talk to my parents about anything but...their sex life." Cooper rolls his eyes. "That was private. It was theirs to share...not mine."

"I didn't talk to my parents about sex either." Charlotte tells him.

"You didn't talk to your parents about _anything_." Cooper reminds.

"I know it feels weird, Cooper, but they're getting older and these kinds of things are going to come up now. I don't want them sneaking around behind our backs."

"You're right." Cooper sighs. "I'm worried about Chase driving." Cooper asks. "Are you comfortable with Andie and Chase behind the wheel?"

"Andie and Chase are responsible kids. I'm not worried about them. Ask me again when Noah and Drew want to drive."

Cooper laughs.

Charlotte continues, "I'll be the one who has a heart attack when Noah and Drew start driving. It'll be your turn to take care of me."

Cooper squeezes Charlotte's shoulder. "Luckily we have a long time before that happens."

"Good thing."

"So, what should we now?" Cooper asks.

"How 'bout we start planning that birthday party for Andie and Chase."

"I wanted to run something by you." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"What?"

"I want to invite Leslie. She's my sister, like it or not. I figure we should try to get along this way the kids will get to know their cousins better."

"What about Nicky?" Charlotte asks. "That might be rough on Andie."

"Andie knows he's her cousin now." Cooper explains. "She stopped seeing him as a boyfriend, she might as well get to know him as her cousin now."

"You should probably discuss it with her before you invite them. He was her first." Charlotte tells him.

"I know." Cooper sighs. "I'm sorry that had to happen. I wish Leslie would have told us earlier."

"That's the only reason Leslie did tell us." Charltotte reminds Cooper. "If Leslie didn't walk in on them in bed that day she would have never told us the truth."

Cooper rolls his eyes. "And Andie and Nicky would still be dating."

"Yep." Charlotte nods.

"Poor kid." Cooper shakes his head.

"I think Andie and Nicky may have worked it out." Charlotte pats Cooper's knee. "Nicky came up to the hospital the day of your surgery. He helped Andie through an emotionally tough day."

"You're sure they're just friends?" Cooper asks.

"I'm sure. They know their cousins."

"Good." Cooper nods.

Charlotte takes out a pad of paper and a pen. "Let's get started planning, then."


	31. Chapter 31

**_CHAPTER 31_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte carries her tray across the hospital cafeteria. "Is this seat taken?" She asks Cole who's eating alone<p>

"Sit," Cole pulls out the chair. I'd never turn away a beautiful woman. Charlotte laughs and sits down. "Are you going to eat all that?" Cole looks at the cheeseburger and fries on Charlotte's tray.

"I've been dying to have one of these for weeks. I can't eat like this around Cooper anymore. He's on such a restricted diet which I've been following with him but he's home now so...-"

"So... while the cat's away the mice will play." Cole laughs.

"I was going to say what Cooper doesn't know won't hurt him. So don't tell him you saw me eating a cheeseburger."

"Your secret is safe with me." Cole jokes.

"Are you and Jolie coming to the party?

"What party?" Cole asks.

"For Andie's seventeenth birthday and Chase's sixteenth birthday. We're having a combined party at the house for them."

"When is it?" Cole asks.

"Next Saturday, I know Cooper told Jolie about it on the phone."

"Jolie and I aren't speaking. I'm staying at the hotel near the hospital."

"Cooper didn't tell me that."

"Jolie isn't telling anyone. She has an image to keep up. It doesn't look good that I'm staying at a hotel."

"How long have you been at the hotel?

"Since Marley got caught skipping school and drinking beer at the beach." Cole answers.

"Is that what you fought about?"

"We fought about a few things. Jolie thinks I'm spending too much time with Dylan. She says I'm neglecting Cole Jr. and Marley and that's the reason Marley was acting out and cut school."

"I don't think that's it." Charlotte answers. "Noah cut out of school one day too. He thought it would make him more popular with the girls."

"They're kids." Cole says. "They're going to make mistakes but God forbid Cole Jr or Marley make a mistake. Jolie screamed so loud at Marley, she had the poor kid in tears. I couldn't take it anymore. I told Jolie she was being ridiculous. She went off on me for saying that in front of the kids and making her look bad. It escalated from there."

"So, the kids heard you fighting?" Charlotte asks before biting into her cheeseburger.

"They heard it all. We started arguing about Dylan and how I got Amelia pregnant while living with Jolie. The kids heard it all."

"That's not good." Charlotte eats a fry. "Are you going to go back to Jolie?"

"Probably. We need this time apart, I think."

"So, you still love her?"

"I'll always love Jolie. Jolie took my son,Tyler, in and helped me raise him as if he was her own. A lot of woman can't do that. Even after the twins were born she never showed them any favoritism over Tyler because she gave birth to them. She treats Tyler as if she gave birth to him too."

"Tyler's lucky. You raised him to be quite a gentleman. I was disappointed when Tyler and Andie broke up." Charlotte finishes her cheeseburger.

Cole looks at her "So, was it worth it?"

"What?" Charlotte asks, wiping her mouth.

"Was it worth sneaking the cheeseburger behind Cooper's back?"

Charlotte shakes her head. "Nope. I'm going to confess as soon as I get home." Charlotte and Cole share a laugh before going back to work.

* * *

><p>Marley sits with Noah at the school cafeteria. "What's the matter, Mar?" Noah asks. "You don't look happy."<p>

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Marley asks.

"Cross my heart." Noah makes a cross against his chest.

"My dad left my mom. He's staying at a hotel."

"Why?"

"Because I cut out that day and went to the beach with Lila and those other kids to drink beer."

"Why did he move out cuz of that? My momma got over it and didn't even tell my dad about it." Noah bites into his sandwich.

"That's cuz your momma is cool. My mother is all worried about me shaming her in front of the principal. She blamed my dad for it and they got in this huge fight."

"Why does she blame your dad cuz you cut class?"

"She says my dad's been neglecting me and my brother ever since Dylan got sick because my dad goes to see him every day after work."

"But Dylan has cancer and he's your dad's kid too."

"They fought about how my dad cheated on my mom and got Amelia pregnant with Dylan." Marley drinks her chocolate milk.

"I always wondered about that because Dylan has the same birthday as you but I didn't want to ask." Noah tells her.

"My mom hates it that Dylan has the same birthday as us. She always plans our party first to make sure my dad spends our birthday with us and not Dylan."

"That's mean." Noah says. "Maybe your dad could take turns or you could have one big party and all celebrate it together."

"My mom would never do that. She and Amelia pretend to like each other but they really hate each other."

"Do you think Amelia would be with your dad if it wasn't for your mom?"

"Yeah." Marley answers. "Look at my dad and then look at Sheldon. I'm sure Amelia would be with my dad if he wasn't already married to my mom."

"But Amelia and Sheldon have Sara together so they must love each other." Noah finishes his sandwich.

"I don't know, I just wish I never went to the beach that day so they didn't start fighting."

"Why did you go to the beach that day?"

Marley hesitates and her face turns red. "Because I wanted to lose my image as a goody-goody smart girl. I wanted you to think I'm cool."

"You cut out for me?" Noah's surprised.

Marley nods. "Yep."

Noah hesitates than asks. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Marley doesn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Will your mom freak because you're only thirteen and have a boyfriend?"

"Who cares what my mom thinks! What Jolie don't know can't hurt her." Marley smirks calling her mother by her first name.

"So, what do we do now that you're my girlfriend?" Noah asks.

"You should buy me some kind of ring or necklace and I have to buy you something, but I'm not sure what."

"That's it?" Noah asks.

"And we have to hold hands in the hallway."

The school bell rings for the students to move to the next class. Marley stands up and gives Noah a quick kiss on the cheek. "Oh... and that too."

Lila scowls while she watches them from the other side of the cafeteria.

* * *

><p><strong><em>To Carlynn- Yes, Tess and Chase are staying together. There will be more of Andie and Danielle's friendship on and off again throughout the story. It's a long long story. Andie and Danielle may hit a few bumps as BFF's but they will always have each other's backs and end as BFF's. =)<em>**


	32. Chapter 32

**_CHAPTER 32_**

* * *

><p>Andie's getting ready in her room for her seventeenth birthday celebration. Cooper and Charlotte decided to throw it in the backyard of their home in The Pacific Palisades area of LA. They're home overlooks the Pacific Ocean. They arranged for party tents and hired a caterer to lighten the load since Cooper has only been out of the hospital two weeks.<p>

Danielle knocks on Andie's bedroom door. "You're here early." Andie tells Danielle.

"I need to talk to you about something." Danielle sits on Andie's bed.

"I need to talk to you about something too." Andie tells Danielle.

"You go first." Danielle offers.

"Nicky just called to tell me my dad hired his band to play at my party. It was supposed to be a surprise but Nicky decided it would be better if I knew."

"Why would your dad hire Nicky's band?"

"According to Nicky his mother bragged to my father that they're the best up and coming band in LA. My dad thinks me and Nicky are friends. So I have to act surprised."

"That's not so bad." Danielle tells her. "At least Nicky will be at your party."

"But I have to pretend we're just friends. I hate lying to my family, especially my dad. My dad hates lying. He's Mr. Honesty."

"Did you ever consider telling them the truth?"

"They would never accept our relationship because of the cousin thing. They wouldn't get that Nicky and I will never consider us cousins."

Danielle nods. "You're in a no win situation."

"What did you want to tell me?" Andie asks Danielle.

"I didn't want to do this right before your party but I didn't want you to hear about it from someone else."

Andie holds her stomach. "You're making me nervous, Danielle."

"It's not a bad thing." Danielle tells her "I got accepted into Yale. I'm going to Yale for their undergraduate program."

"Congratulations." Andie hugs Danielle. "I bet your mom is happy."

"She's over the moon." Danielle tells Andie.

"But are you happy?" Andie asks Danielle.

"I'm excited and it helps that Lucas is there. I'll know someone but I'll miss you."

"I'll still be in high school." Andie frowns.

"Maybe you can go to Yale too when you graduate. Then we'll be together again."

"I don't want to leave Nicky." Andie tells her then asks. "What about Tyler?"

"I broke up with Tyler as soon as I found out I got in Yale."

"How did he take it?" Andie asks.

"He took it surprisingly well. We both knew it wasn't going to last forever. Tyler knew I was applying to Yale and this day would come soon."

"I knew it too." Andie admits. "I just didn't want to think about it. What am I going to do without you?"

"I'm not going for another four months when school starts. Then we can use that invention called the phone plus I'll be home for vacations and holidays. You'll be fine, Andie." Danielle hugs her.

"I'm happy for you, Danielle. I really am."

Charlotte knocks on the door. "Your party guests have started to arrive. It might be a novel idea for you to come out and greet them."

"Yes, momma." Andie and Danielle walk down the steps to talk to the crowd that's starting to gather. Andie notices Leslie sitting on the couch talking to Cooper with her thirteen year old daughter, Suzie.

They're looking through another box of pictures with Noah and Drew. Leslie's daughter Suzie looks on. Andie walks over. "What are those, dad?

"Leslie brought more old pictures over. These pictures are of my mother's parents."

"Mary Freedman is your mother, dad." Andie reminds him.

"I mean my biological mother's parents."

"They're my great grandparents." Suzie announces.

"I guess they would be our great grandparents' too." Noah says.

"That's right." Leslie answers. "My mother is your grandmother and so her parents are your grandparents. That's what makes you cousins."

"Awesome." Suzie says. "So, can I call you Uncle Cooper, now?"

"That'd be fine with me." Cooper tells the auburn haired girl.

"Should we call you Aunt Leslie?" Noah asks Cooper's twin sister.

"You can if you want to." Leslie answers.

"You know what's wild?" Suzie asks.

"What?" Cooper asks. "You guys are twins so you were both inside your mother at the same time. You probably were sad when you got adopted by different people after being together in grandma's body for so long."

"I never really thought about that." Cooper tells the thirteen year old.

"Do you feel a special connection?"

"I think I do." Cooper responds.

"What?" Andie scowls at her father.

"I've always felt lonely as a kid. That's why I had a lot of friends around me and wanted a large family. Maybe it has something to do with missing that connection I had with my twin in the womb." Cooper explains.

"Good grief." Andie rolls her eyes and walks back over to Danielle. "My father is bonding with his twin sister who happens to be my boyfriend's mother. Could this day get any worse?"

Charlotte calls out. "We need everyone to step outside into the yard." The party guests make their way outside. Nicky and his band have set up a makeshift stage. Nicky stands at the microphone. "We'd like to wish Andie a happy seventeenth birthday and Chase a happy sixteenth birthday. The first song of the night will be for the lovely Andie and the second song will be for Chase.

The band starts playing "Amazed" by Lone-Star. Andie know this is no coincidence as she listens to Nicky sing it just as beautifully as he did the night in the barn, but this time his band plays along.

"They're really good." Danielle tells her. "Maybe his mom wasn't bragging maybe they really are the best up and coming band in LA."

"Andie's too mesmerized by Nicky's singing to pay attention to Danielle.

"Andie! Andie!" Cooper gently shakes his daughter back to reality.

"What dad?"

"I asked you like three times already to dance."

"Sure dad." Andie gets up and slow dances with Cooper and its real slow because of his surgery. His leg is still on the weak side. She feels bad that Cooper has to dance this way but she also knows he wouldn't give up this chance. She thinks it's bizarre that she's dancing with her father while her boyfriend is serenading her. It's almost more than she can take and she hugs Cooper and cries.

Tess shows up late to the party and Chase immediately takes her out on the dance floor. "Wow, the band is really good." Tess tells him as they dance to *Amazed.* "You're sister is real emotional, isn't she?" Tess watches Andie dance with Cooper and cry.

"That's her boyfriend up there singing to her and my father has now idea." Chase tells Tess.

"Oh, is that the new cousin you were telling me about?"

Chase nods.

"Your family is even wackier than mine." Tess tells him.

Noah dances with Marley while Lila scowls at them as she dances with her father, Pete Wilder

Cole sits next to Charlotte. "Noah and Marley look cute together." Cole tells Charlotte.

"They do." Charlotte agrees.

"Except Jolie looks like she's ready to kill someone." Cole points Jolie sitting across the way with Cole Jr.

Sheldon and Amelia dance alongside little Sara and Drew dancing.

"Now those two are adorable." Charlotte says.

"Who?" Cole teases. "Sheldon and Amelia."

"Course not you idiot." Charlotte teases. 'I'm talking about Drew and Sara. They're five."

Cole's face drops. "What? Are you mad I called you an idiot?"

"It's just that I've heard wod that come out of Jolie's mouth more times than I care to remember these past few months."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it. I know you're not an idiot. I wouldn't have you runnin' the hospital pharmacy if I didn't think you were brilliant."

Cole smiles. "Now that's better. I like hearing that I'm brilliant."

The dance ends and Cooper sits back down next to Charlotte. He moves slow and she can tell it took a lot out of him to stay on his feet that long to dance with Jolie."

"Are you okay, Coop?" Charlotte asks.

"I'm fine, but I don't think my leg was ready for that long a dance yet."

"Yeah." Cole agrees. "That kid added extra verses. He stretched the song out to ten minutes"

"Don't I know it?" Cooper says. "I think I'll just stay here in this chair for the rest of the night."

"Is daddy okay?" Andie comes over to ask while Nicky sings the next song.

"He's okay, Sweet Pea. He just over did it. The song went on longer than he expected it too."

"I noticed Nicky added more versus." Andie tells her momma. Nicky's band plays the song stand by me.

"You love this song." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"I want to dance but Chase's dancing with his girlfriend. I don't have the heart to cut in." Charlotte answers.

"I'd dance with you, Chief, if my leg would let me." Cooper apologizes.

"I'll dance with you if Cooper doesn't mind." Cole tells them.

"That's sweet Cole but I'll wait it out with Cooper."

"No. Go dance." Cooper tells her. "You love this song. Why should my bum leg ruin your fun too?"

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Hurry up before the song's over." Cooper tells Cole and Charlotte. They get up to dance while Cooper watches them from his seat. Violet comes over and sits next to him. "Why aren't you dancing with your wife?" Violet asks.

"Don't tell Charlotte but dancing with Andie took all the stamina I had tonight. I'm exhausted just from that one dance. I feel like a ninety year old man."

"You're still recovering from major heart surgery, Coop. You probably should have waited another month to have this party. You'll be dancing again by then."

"Looks like you lost your dancing partner to Lila but why doesn't Lila look to happy about it?" Cooper asks.

"Lila's not happy that Noah and Marley are dancing. And by the looks of it Jolie doesn't look to happy about Cole and Charlotte dancing. If looks could kill they'd be dead." Violet informs Cooper.

"I wonder why Cole isn't dancing with Jolie." Cooper thinks out loud.

"I'm guessing there's trouble in paradise." Violet suggests

"Really?

"They've stayed on opposite sides of the party all night."

"Maybe I shouldn't have suggested that Cole dance with Charlotte then." Cooper scowls.

"Charlotte loves you, Coop. You don't have a thing to worry about."

"I know." Cooper smiles and watches Charlotte dance with Cole.

Andie sits down next to Cooper. "Here daddy I brought you some water."

"Thanks," Cooper sips at the water. Drew comes running over "Daddy did you see what Aunt Leslie gave me?"

"What?"

"Look." Drew holds up a vintage train set.

"It was our grandfather's." Leslie tells Cooper. My mom…I mean… our mom gave it to me to keep. Nicky played with it when he was younger but he's outgrown trains now so I figured Drew might like it. It still works."

"It's awesome." Drew runs inside with it with Sara following him.

"Thank you." Cooper tells Leslie.

"My mom also gave Nicky her old guitar when she found out he plays but he never uses it since he has his fancy guitar he plays in the band. Do any of your kids play?"

"Noah is taking guitar lessons."

"It's an old guitar. It's more like an antique. I'll ask Nicky to show it to his cousin, Noah."

"Good grief. I can't take this anymore." Andie gets up and goes inside.

"What's her problem?" Violet asks.

"I don't know." Cooper tells Violet.

The band announces they'll be taking a short refreshment break. Nicky finds Andie sitting alone on the front steps. "I was looking all over for you. Why are you out here by yourself at your party?"

"I can't do this anymore." Andie tells him.

"Do what?" Nicky puffs on a cigarette..

"I can't be your girlfriend anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because we're cousins."

"We're not cousins, remember? We didn't grow up that way. I don't call your parents aunt and uncle and you don't call my mother your aunt."

"But my brothers do and your sister is calling my dad Uncle Cooper now."

"What?"

"Your mother and my father are bonding over sharing their mother's womb. I can't do this anymore. We officially became cousins tonight. Your mother is giving my brothers' family heirlooms from our grandmother. Don't you get it Nicky? We have the same grandmother. We're cousins. We can't date. It's over." Andie stalks back to the party out in the backyard.

Nicky returns to the makeshift stage. The band takes a while before performing the next song.

"I thought they were off their break. What's taking them so long to get started again?" Noah asks.

"It looks like they're looking for music." Chase answers.

"Maybe they're looking for the music to a certain song they want to play." Marley says.

Tess adds. "They should have set up what they were going to play before they set up the stage. A good band would have had all the music ready before hand. Making us wait this long is rude. If I was your father, I'd get my money back.

"Don't worry. It'll be worth the wait." Noah tells Tess. "This band rocks!"

Andie sits at the table quiet, listening to her brothers and their girlfriends discuss Nicky's band. She wonders if the hold up is that Nicky doesn't want to sing anymore since she broke up with him. She can't blame him for that. Finally the band comes back on the make shift stage. Nicky takes his place at the microphone again which surprises Andie.

The band starts playing "I Still Love You" by Kiss. Nicky sings:

~~~~_You __tell __me __that __you're __leaving~~~~and __I'm __trying __to __understand~~~~I __had __myself __believing __I __should __take __it __like __a __man~~~~But __if __you __gotta __go __you __gotta __know __it's __still __killing __me~~~~ I __gotta __make __you __see~~~~~I __still __love __you, __Belle~~~I __still __love __you~~~."_

Chase, Noah and Danielle immediately shoot their eyes to look at Andie knowing now that Nicky customized the song for her by adding the name Belle. Andies tries hard to fight the tears that are welling up in her eyes.

"The band is really good but this is a depressing song to be singing at a birthday party." Tess tells Chase. "Who would want to dance to a break up song?"

Chase tells Tess,"I get the idea that my sister just broke up with Nicky and that's why he's singing it."

"Bummer." Tess says.

Nicky continues to sing ~~~ _It's __killing __me~~~__I __gotta __make __you __see~~~__I __still __love __you,__Belle.~~~~I __still __love __you."_ Andie gets up and tries to discreetly leave. Danielle follows her into the house. Once they're in the kitchen Andie tells Danielle "I broke up with Nicky tonight."

"I think we all got that from the song...but why?" Danielle asks.

"He's my cousin now. My family and his family are acting like cousins and I can't carry on this charade anymore." Andie wipes her eyes and sniffles back her tears. "I'm gonna be strong. I can do this. I have to do this." Andie tells Danielle.

Danielle hugs Andie and rubs her back. "It'll be okay."

Outside Nicky continues to sing the heart wrenching break up song. Jolie stares at Cole with tears in her eyes. Tyler looks around for Danielle.

Cooper says to Charlotte. "This is an interesting choice of song. Why would they play something so depressing at a happy occasion?"

Charlotte responds. "Don't ask me, he's your nephew."

"Exactly." Chase tells them. Charlotte and Cooper scan the crowd for Andie with their eyes. They discover she left during the song. They look at each other and they finally get it.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN-_****_Who's _****_your _****_favorite _****_of _****_Charlotte _****_and _****_Cooper's _****_four _****_children? _****_Who _****_is _****_your _****_least _****_favorite?_**

**_Who _****_is _****_your _****_favorite _****_of _****_the _****_kids _****_friends?_**


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER**_** 33**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte's sitting alone in the kitchen sipping her coffee. Chase walks in the kitchen. "Why are you up so early, momma?"<p>

"Your dad's Aunt Flo just called. Grandma Mary passed away in her sleep last night."

"What?" Chase is clearly shocked.

"They think she had a stroke in her sleep. She slept over Aunt Flo's house last night, she was going to drive Aunt Flo to her podiatrist appointment this morning. When grandma didn't wake up, Aunt Flo went to check on her and found her dead. She just called me."

"Wow. That's right! It's two hours earlier there." Chase sits down next to Charlotte. "Does dad know?"

"Not yet, he's still sleeping."

"Is he going to have another heart attack when you tell him? He was close to Grandma."

"Don't worry about that, Chase. Your father has new plumbing going to his heart. His arteries were clogged before he had the heart attack but their okay now. The new vessels from his leg are clear. He's not having another heart attack. Not today anyway."

"Thank God." Drew breathes a sigh of relief.

"But he will have a broken heart when I tell him."

"Poor dad, poor grandma, poor Aunt Flo, now she's alone since all our relatives from Ohio are dead now."

"Your dad has some cousins there that you haven't met. You can meet them at the funeral. Aunt Flo's going to make arrangements and let me know. It should be in another day or two."

Chase tells Charlotte. "Andie's taking the SAT's at school this week. She can't go."

"She can stay home. Grandma's already dead. It's more important to visit when the person's living."

"Can I stay home too?" I have some big exams this week." Chase asks Charlotte.

"Fine. You and Andie are old enough to stay alone a few days. I'll get Aunt Violet to check on you. I'm going to go upstairs and tell your father now." Charlotte pads up the stairs with her coffee.

"Do you want me to tell Andie and Noah when they wake up?" Chase calls up after his momma.

"I'd appreciate that." Charlotte call back to Chase.

Charlotte enters the master bedroom with her coffee. "Coop, you awake." She asks.

Cooper rolls over to look at her. He wipes the sleep out of his eyes "Now I am. What time is it?"

"Here have some coffee." She hands him her cup. "I have something to tell you, Coop."

"Hmm…half a cup of coffee in bed? What's the occasion?"

"I'm sorry, Coop, to tell you this but your mom passed away."

Cooper sips his coffee and asks cautiously. "Which one?"

Charlotte pauses and furrows her brow. "Your mother; Mary Freedman."

Cooper rubs his forehead. "I was hoping you'd say the other one. Not that I wish any harm on Susan Moore but I was hoping it was her who passed away and not my mother."

"I know, Cooper." Charlotte hugs him. Cooper sobs on her shoulder.

"How? What happened?" Cooper asks through teary eyes.

"Aunt Flo found her. She died in her sleep; probably a stroke."

"I guess that's the best way to go; in your sleep. At least she didn't suffer."

Charlotte nods. "She's back with your father now."

"My poor dad, she's probably nagging him already." Cooper tries to cheer himself up thinking of his parents together again.

Charlotte gives him a small smile and pats his knee. "I'll make the arrangements to fly to Ohio for the funeral. You rest. I'll handle everything."

"Thanks, Chief. I'm lucky to have you."

"No. I'm the lucky one." Charlotte kisses him on the forehead. "I'm grateful to have you."

"Do the kids know?" Cooper asks.

"Chase does. He's going to tell Andie and Noah. We can wait to tell Drew."

"Are we bringing the kids?" Cooper asks.

"Andie and Chase are staying home; they have important exams to take this week but we're bringing Noah and Drew."

"Lucky us." Cooper rolls his eyes.

"I can't ask anyone to take Drew again. He drove Sheldon up the wall when he stayed with them and Noah's only fourteen we can't leave him alone."

"Andie and Chase will be here." Cooper points out.

"And I can hear them bickering already if we left Andie or Chase in charge of Noah."

"You're right."

"I'm going to take a shower and then go into St. Ambrose. I need to find someone to cover for me while I'm gone. Then, I have to go to the office and make sure everything gets squared away with my patients."

"Sounds like a busy day."

"Andie and Chase will drive themselves to school. Can you just make sure Noah and Drew get on their buses on time? You don't have to do anything else. I'll set up their breakfast for them."

"I can handle it, Chief." Cooper gets out of bed and slowly walks to the dresser to gather his clothes while Charlotte jumps in the shower.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note- Thanks for the feedback. It's the only way I know what y'all are thinking. I loved reading all your responses. <strong>_

_**Keep the feedback coming! =)**_


	34. Chapter 34

**_CHAPTER 34_**

* * *

><p>Chase lets Tess in the front door with her books to study for their big chemistry exam this week. She's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. They go up to Chase's room and shut the door.<p>

Chase sits at his desk and opens his chemistry book while Tess sits on his bed. "So how long are your parents going to be in Ohio for?"

"Just two days." Chase answers. "Let's start with the easy stuff first."

"Call out the periodic table to me." Tess tells Chase.

"One?"

"Hydrogen."

"Two?

"Helium." Tess answers. "Don't go in order. Mix it up."

"Tell me what number seventeen is."

Tess answers "Chlorine."

"You're good at this. Are you sure you didn't study already?" Chase asks.

"I'll quiz you now. Give me number thirteen."

Chase tells her. "Thirteen is aluminum."

"Tell me number nine."

"Number nine is Fluorine." Chase smirks.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm not laughing."

"Yes you are, because you're cheating. You have the book open to the page already. Give me the book." Tess demands.

"I wasn't looking at the book." Chase defends.

"Then hand it over." Tess holds her hand out.

"No." Chase laughs.

Tess jumps up and grabs the book off his desk. "Tell me number seven without looking."

"Nitrogen." Chase answers.

"You got lucky. Tell me number twenty one."

"Give me my book back." Chase tries to grab it out of her hand but Tess is quicker.

"Why do you want the book, Chase?" Tess teases holding the book up over his head. "Because you don't know the answer?"

Chase lunges forward to grab the book again but Tess jumps up on and over the bed to get away. Chase follows her and jumps over the bed. "Tell me the answer and you'll get your book back." Tess laughs and runs around the room. Chase tackles her on the bed and tries to grab the book. Tess sticks it up her sweatshirt. "You wouldn't dare." She teases him.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Chase teases. "You wanna test me?"

Tess laughs.

Chase is lying on Tess's legs while she hides the book under her shirt. Chase warns her. "This is your last chance to give me the book or I'm going to get it myself."

"Admit you don't know what element number 21 is and I'll let you have the book." Tess smiles.

"I warned you." Chase sticks his hand up her sweatshirt to grab the book. Tess laughs and holds the book tight against her chest.

"Give it to me or I'm going to tickle you into submission." Chase warns playfully.

"Admit you don't know the answer and the book is all yours." Tess says again.

"Ok. You asked for it." Chase tickles Tess under her shirt, she laughs out loud.

Andie opens the door. "What's going on in here?"

"Nothing." Chase tells her.

"Are you two banging it?"

Chase turns to look at Andie and tells her. "Duh... We have our clothes on."

"Are you on the pill?" Andie asks Tess.

"No. Why?"

"I suggest you ask my mother to write you a prescription before you make her a grandmother."

"What are you talking about?" Chase asks Andie. "We weren't doing anything."

"You can't fool me." Andie puts her hands on her hips.

"I'm wearing a sweat shirt and jeans." Tess tells Andie. "I'd like to know how I could get pregnant with my clothes on."

Chase laughs. "It would be a miracle baby and then we would be famous."

"You guys won't be laughing when you have to change diapers. I suggest you don't screw in the house when momma and dad come home from Ohio. There's a nice cozy barn at the Ross Stabiles where you can go to be alone."

"Is that where you and Nicky went before you dumped him?" Chase teases.

"I didn't dump Nicky. It was an impossible situation." Andie says. "I had no choice."

"Because he's your cousin?" Tess laughs.

"It's not funny!" Andie snaps and glares at Tess.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were so touchy." Tess apologizes.

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time on you two. Just remember to get on the pill before you screw."

Chase responds, "For the last time we weren't screwing. We have our clothes on."

"If I didn't come in here, you'd have your clothes off by now and a new little Freedman would be on the way in nine months. You two should be thanking me." Andie closes the door and leaves.

"Your sister's a trip." Tess tells Chase.

"She's trying to be all bossy and in charge since my parents are away. She's driving me bonkers already, and my parents have only been gone one day."

Tess laughs. "Good thing you have me to keep you sane."

"Yeah." Chase says. "Now give me that book."

"Try and get it." Tess holds the book tight against her chest. Chase reaches in for the book under Tess's shirt but she's holding it tight.

"I can't seem to get the book out. It might be easier if you take your shirt off."

Tess pulls off her shirt. She's wearing a black bra. She's still holding the book against her chest. Chase snakes his hand under the book and feels around. He kisses Tess and she drops the book. They continue to kiss. "What's that in your pants?" Tess teases Chase.

"Go check for yourself." Chase continues to kiss Tess. Tess carefully opens Chases jeans and snakes her hand into his boxers. Chase swallows. "It feels good." He tells her.

"It does." Tess smiles at him.

"You wanna keep going?" Chase asks Tess.

Tess nods.

Chase unhooks her bra off and looks at her. "Wow." He says before cupping her breasts. She leans up to kiss him some more and before you know it, clothes are flying all over the room. They exchange hot kisses and touches for the next few minutes. "Should we stop?" Chase asks.

"We can't stop now." Tess kisses Chase behind his ear. "Let's keep going."

"Good." Chase moans and climbs on top of her. He enters her slowly, unsure for the first time. "Is that okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I just wanna be with you." Tess answers, holding on tight to his hips.

They look into each other's eyes while he strokes in and out of her. She can't help but moan as she reaches her climax. Chase grunts and lets out a final moan before he spills into her. "Wow." He says before letting himself fall on top of her. He holds her tight.

"Wow." She says back. "We actually did it."

"I can't believe we did it." Chase rolls off of Tess onto his back and stares up at the ceiling. "My sister was right."

"I'm glad we did it." Tess tells him as she also stares up at the ceiling. "It was amazing."

Chase breathes deep and stares at the ceiling fan. "To think this all started cuz you stole my chemistry book."

"All you had to do was admit you didn't know element 21 and I would have gave up the book. By the way, the answer is scandium. They use it for stadium lighting."

"Thanks. I won't ever forget element 21 now." Chase gets up to put his clothes back on and suggests. "Maybe we should try that for all he elements I have a hard time with."

"That would amount to a lot of screwing in one afternoon." Tess teases.

"I'm not complaining. What did you think about it?"

"The sex?" Tess asks.

"Yes the sex, what else?"

"It was great but I don't know if we did it right"

"How else can you do it?" Chase asks with a hint of sarcasm.

"I don't know." Tess tells him. "It was my first time."

"Mine too."

"I know. That's why I'm not sure if we were doing it right." Tess stands up.

"Well, it felt good, right?" Chase asks.

"Yeah, it hurt at first but then it felt good at the end." Tess tells him.

"Sorry if I was hurting you. I tried to be gentle." Chase apologizes.

"No. It's normal." Tess tells him. "Some of my friends back home have done it already and they say it hurts at first. I guess you have to stretch things out before if can feel good."

Chase kisses her again. "Well, I'm glad I you were my first."

Tess kisses him back. "Me too," she answers before squirming around.

"Are you alright?" Chase asks.

"I need to use the bathroom to clean up. I feel all gooey. I don't know it that's your sexy stuff or mine dripping out of me?" Tess wipes away some fluid running down her leg.

"It's from me." Chase nods.

"Oh."

"You can use the bathroom down the hall but get dressed first in case my sister's still around." Tess gets dressed and makes her way down to the bathroom.

Chase opens up his lap top and starts researching the morning after pill.

"What are you doing?" Tess asks when she comes back in the room.

"I'm looking up the morning after pill. I heard about it. You can take it to prevent getting pregnant."

"If I go to a doctor or hospital to get that pill, my parents will find out. I'm under their health insurance."

"Well, how do you feel?"

"Why?"

"Do you feel like you're pregnant?" Chase asks.

"I'm not going to know that unless I miss my period. It's not like people have sex and bam they feel pregnant the next minute." Tess shakes her head.

"When is your period due?" Chase asks.

"Next week."

"Okay, so we don't have to wait too long. Is there anything we can do now to try and prevent it from happening?"

"I guess I can use one of those douche things to rinse myself out. Does your mother or sister have one I could borrow?

Chase screws up his face. "I'm not going to ask my sister if she has a douche I could borrow and my mother will notice if hers is missing. We'll have to run up to the store and buy one."

"Fine." Tess sighs. "Let's go."

Chase and Tess go to the local drug store. Tess grabs a push cart. "What else are you buying?" Chase asks.

"Nothing. I want to hide it in the cart. I don't want anyone to see me buying a douche."

Chase throws some candy, shampoo and toothpaste in the cart to cover the douche so nobody can see it in the cart. When they get to the cash register to pay, both their faces turn a shade of red. "I'm glad there was no problem" Chase says. "I kept thinking while we were waiting on the line that there might not be a price on the douche and the dude at the cash register would have to yell out to everyone in the store. "How much is this douche? These kids want to buy a douche."

Tess starts laughing, "I was thinking the same thing." They both laugh about it on the drive home.

When they get home Tess goes into the bathroom to use the douche while Chase studies for the chemistry test. Tess comes back in the room. "How'd it go?" Chase asks.

Tess screws up her face. "It's done."

"Good, lets hope it works." Chase says before calling out the elements again. "Number ten?"

"Neon."

"Number sixteen?"

"Sulfur." Tess answers.

"Number eleven?"

"Sodium."

"You're good!" Chase tells Tess. 'You haven't missed one yet."

"You're good too." Tess tells him.

Chase smiles before saying. "We're good together."

Tess answers. "Yep, we're gonna rock this test on Friday."

Chase sings. "~~ I wanna rock with you girl.~~"

Tess laughs. "Get back to studying."

"Number 25?" Chase calls out.


	35. Chapter 35

**_CHAPTER 35_**

* * *

><p>One week later:<p>

Andie answers the door. The delivery person hands her a bouquet of a dozen red roses sprayed with glitter. Andie reads the card. _"I __still __love __you-Nicky."_ Andie puts the flowers down on the kitchen table and rips up the card into tiny little pieces. She drops them in the trash can. This is the second bouquet of flowers Nicky's sent her this week. Charlotte breezes in the kitchen for a cup of coffee. "Nice flowers. Who are they from?"

"I don't know." Andie answers. "More sympathy flowers cuz grandma died I guess."

"Who sent them?"

"I don't know." Andie shrugs.

Charlotte looks through the bouquet for a card. "That's odd." Charlotte says.

"The card probably fell off in the delivery truck." Andie lies.

"No, I mean it's odd that someone would send red roses sprayed with glitter for a sympathy bouquet."

"Maybe you have a secret admirer, momma." Andie teases and walks back into the living room.

The doorbell rings again. "Not more flowers!" Andie gripes as she gets up to answer the door. "We have enough flowers and fruit baskets in this house to last a year." She gripes to herself. She opens the door and is surprised to see Tyler standing there with a fruit basket. "Are you working as a delivery man now?" She asks him.

Tyler laughs. "My mom asked me to bring these over for your family. It's a decent basket. There's a lot of fruit but there's also chocolate bars and cheesecakes and other goodies."

"Great but my dad can only eat the fruit." Andie rips open the cellophane wrapper and grabs a candy bar. She breaks it in half to share with Tyler. "That means we get to eat the goodies."

Charlotte comes out of the kitchen. "Hi Tyler. How's your mom and dad doing?"

"Good, I guess." Tyler shrugs. "This fruit basket is from my mom." He hands the basket to Charlotte.

"Isn't it from both your parents since they're married?" Andie asks.

"They split up. My dad's been living at the hotel for over a month." Tyler tells Andie.

"That's a bummer."

"Tell your mom I said thank you for the fruit basket. It looks like a good one." Charlotte grabs a banana out of the basket and peels it. "I have to go to the hospital for a little bit. Daddy's resting in bed if you need anything." Charlotte takes a bite of the banana before walking out the door.

"I can't believe your parents split after all these years." Andie tells Tyler.

"Yep. My life sucks." Tyler leans back on the couch and bites into the chocolate bar. "My parents are separated, Danielle dumped me...-"

Andie interrupts. "Danielle broke up with you because she's going to Yale. It's kind of hard to have a relationship living on opposite sides of the country."

Tyler swallows the chocolate bar and answers,"Danielle wanted to get into Yale to be near Lucas. As soon as she gets there they'll hook up again. She was using me for the time she couldn't be with Lucas."

"I don't know about that, Tyler. She's going to Yale because she's taking pre-med classes, not because of Lucas."

"One time she called me Lucas when we were having sex."

"Ouch!" Andie screws up her face.

"I would look at her when we were having sex and she always had her eyes closed. She was pretending I was Lucas."

Andie snickers. "She never told me anything like that and I'm her best friend. I think she would."

"When's the last time you hung out with Danielle?" Tyler asks.

"Probably two weeks ago at my birthday party."

"She's hanging out with Alison Greene now since they're both going to Yale next semester. She's at her house now."

"She better not try to replace me as her best friend."

"Join the club." Tyler says. "Are you doing anything later?"

"Nope, Just hanging here."

"You wanna go to a movie or bowling or something since we're both single losers?" Tyler asks.

"Hey! We are not losers. We're just going through a rough patch but yeah I'll hang out with you tonight instead of sitting home painting my nails on a Friday night."

The doorbell rings again. "Oh please, not more flowers or fruit baskets." Andie gets up and tells Tyler. "No offense, your fruit basket was the best."

Tess is standing at the door." Is Chase home?" Andie can see that Tess's eyes are red from crying.

"He's up in his room." Andie lets Tess in.

"Hi Tess." Tyler calls out.

Tess ignores him and runs straight up the stairs to Chase's room.

"What's wrong with her?" Tyler asks.

"She's probably pregnant." Andie plops down on the couch. "I can't wait to see how my momma reacts. Chase is her favorite but she's a sexologist,she preaches safe sex in her seminars. She's gonna be so mad at Chase"

"Poor Chase." Tyler groans. "He'll be tied to Tess for the rest of his life."

"Who knows? Maybe she won't keep it."

Tess bursts through the doorway into in Chase's room crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm late. I was supposed to get my period yesterday and I didn't get it yet."

"Oh crap! What should we do?" Chase jumps up out of his chair.

"We should do one of those home pregnancy tests, I guess." Tess wipes her eyes.

"Did you get one yet?"

"I don't want anyone to see me buying it. My parents will kill me if they find out. I thought maybe your mom or sister has one I could use."

"I don't think so. I think my mom's too old to get pregnant anymore and my sister doesn't have a boyfriend. We'll have to buy one."

"Can you just go and buy it?" Tess cries. "I'll wait here."

"I'll be back in ten minutes." Chase gives her a gentle kiss on the head before leaving.

* * *

><p>Charlotte's sitting in her office at St. Ambrose. Cole walks in with a bouquet of yellow and white lilies.<p>

"Those are pretty."

Cole hands them to her. "They're for your family. I'm sorry to hear about Cooper's mother. How's he doing?"

"As well as can be expected after having major heart surgery and having his mother suddenly die a few weeks later."

"That good huh?" Cole quirks an eyebrow.

"I think he's depressed. He just mopes around the house since the funeral."

"Give him time. He's grieving."

"I know. Thank you for the flowers Cole."

Cole turns to leave the office. "Cole?" Charlotte calls out.

"Yeah?" Cole turns back around to face her.

"How are things with Jolie?"

"I'm still at the hotel."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Oh ...and Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't happen to send roses to my house earlier, did you?"

"No. Why?" Cole asks.

"Someone sent flowers without a card and we're trying to figure out who they're from."

"Not me. These are the only flowers I've bought in a long time." Cole leaves.

Charlotte finishes up her paperwork before heading home for the day.

* * *

><p>Chase arrives home with the pregnancy test. He passes by Tyler and Andie who are watching TV on the couch without looking at them. He runs up the stairs with it hidden under his jacket.<p>

"He's acting strange today." Tyler comments.

"I told you Tess's pregnant and they're freakin' out."

"I feel sorry for your brother."

"What about Tess? Don't you feel sorry for Tess?" Andie asks.

"Not really." Tyler shrugs his shoulders

"Why not?"

"For some reason, I don't like her."

Andie snickers.

Chase bursts through the bedroom door. "I got it." He hands it to her. They read the directions. "It says it works best if you use it first thing in the morning." Chase tells Tess.

"I can't wait that long to find out. I need to know now." Tess grabs the stick out of the box.

"There are two sticks in the box anyway so you could always do it again in the morning." They walk down the hall to the bathroom. Tess urinates on the stick while Chase waits in the shower with the curtain pulled shut.

"I'm done. You can come out now." She tells Chase.

Chase sets the timer on his phone and they wait. "What should we do if it's positive?" Tess asks.

"We should tell my mother. She'll know what to do." Chase looks at the time on his clock.

"My parents scowled when I told them your mom was a sexologist. They must think she's horny to pick that field."

"My momma gets that from a lot of people. They don't understand it's a medical specialty. But it redeems her that she's Chief of Staff at St. Ambrose. People respect her a lot for that."

"Yeah my parents were impressed when I told them that about her." Tess nods.

"K, times up." Chase tells her. "It's do or die."

Tess looks at the test. "I think it's negative." She smiles.

Chase looks and compares it to the directions. "Yeah, it's negative." He breathes a sigh of relief. Then he warns Tess. "But, don't get too relaxed about it. It said in the directions its best with the first pee in the morning. This test might not be accurate. You better do it again when you wake up tomorrow morning to be sure."

"Okay." Tess sighs and nods, beginning to worry again.

"Call me in the morning as soon as you do it." Chase puts the directions back in his pocket. Tess sticks the test stick in her pocket, afraid that someone might find it in the bathroom trash can. They walk out of the bathroom together. Charlotte passes them in the hall.

"I didn't know you were home, momma."

Charlotte looks at Chase and Tess suspiciously. "I just got home from work now." Charlotte screws up her face. "Are you two attached at the hip? You can't even go to the bathroom alone?" Charlotte teases, thinking it's odd that they came out of the bathroom together.

"No, ma'am." Tess looks at the floor.

"I was showing Tess the new shampoo you bought." Chase tries to think of a reason for them to be in the bathroom together.

"Why?" Charlotte asks.

"She likes the way it smells and wants to buy some but I forgot the brand." Chase thinks quickly.

"Yeah, I wanted to know the brand and now I do." Tess hurries back to Chase's room. Chase follows her.

"The door stays open!" Charlotte calls out to Chase. "You know the rules, if you have any friends in your room the door must stay open."

"Yes, momma, I know." He turns to Tess. "We have to leave the door open so we might as well study for the science quiz next week."

Tess sighs. "Where was your mother last week when we were in your room with the door closed?"

"She was in Ohio at my grandma's funeral."

"I know that. I didn't mean it literally, I meant that I wish she was here so I wouldn't have to worry about being pregnant."

"Shhh! The doors open. Someone might hear you and besides the test was negative."

"I'm not convinced until I do another test in the morning."

Chase sighs. "Can we just be happy for now that this one was negative?"

"Okay." Tess wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips into his for a lingering kiss.

Chase pulls away after a minute "This is how we got into this boat in the first place."

Tess smiles. "I just thought of something."

"What?" Chase asks

"If I am pregnant, we don't have to worry, we could have sex whenever we want." Tess kisses Chase again. They end up pressed up against each other on his bed with their arms wrapped around each other and their legs intertwined.

Charlotte walks by Chase's room and pokes her head in just as Chase is putting his hand up Tess's shirt. "Whoa! Separate Now!" Charlotte commands. Chase and Tess roll away from each other to opposite sides of the bed.

"Sorry, momma." Chase says.

"Sorry ma'am." Tess says.

"Are you two having sex?"

"We were just fooling around." Chase tells his momma. "We have our clothes on and the door's open."

"I asked you; are you having sex?" Charlotte makes herself clear.

Chase looks at the floor while answering. "Yes ma'am, but just once."

"Are you using birth control?" Charlotte asks Tess.

"No ma'am." Tess looks at the ceiling.

"Did you use any kind of protection?" Charlotte looks at both Chase and Tess. "Tell me you at least used something."

Tess and Chase stay quiet.

"Did you use condoms?" Charlotte asks and gets no answer. "Did you use spermicide?" She still gets no answer. She raises her voice. "Did you use anything?"

Chase takes a deep breath. "No ma'am."

"Chase, You know better. Why didn't you use anything?"

"I didn't have anything. We didn't plan to have sex. It just happened." Chase answers.

Tess covers her face with her hands and starts to cry.

Charlotte looks at Tess. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't want you to end up pregnant. You kids don't understand how it will change your lives forever."

Tess sobs even harder now.

"I said I was sorry. You can stop cryin' now." Charlotte tells Tess. "But if you're gonna continue to have sex you need to use birth control."

Tess blurts out. "I'm late and we think I might be pregnant."

"Good God." Charlotte rolls her eyes and looks at Chase.

"Sorry, momma." Chase looks down.

"How late are you?" Charlotte asks Tess.

"Just one day." Tess answers.

"When did you have sex?"

"It was last week when you were in Ohio." Chase answers.

"Your period was due yesterday?" Charlotte asks Tess.

"Yes." Tess answers, "but we did a home pregnancy test and it says negative." Tess pulls the test stick out of her pocket and hands it to Charlotte. Charlotte looks at it.

Chase adds, "the directions say you're supposed to use the first urine in the morning. We just did the test this evening so we're not sure if it's accurate."

"That's what you two were doing in the bathroom together?" Charlotte looks at the negative test stick in her hand

"Yes ma'am." Chase bows his head.

"You were lying to me about the shampoo?" Charlotte asks her oldest son.

"Yes ma'am."

"If you want me to trust you and you want to drive my car, then I suggest you don't lie to me." Charlotte warns in a firm voice. Charlotte turns to Tess. "In my opinion, I think you're okay Tess."

"What?" Tess wipes her eyes.

"By the timing of when you had sex and when your period was due, you shouldn't be pregnant. You could be late from the stress of worrying about being pregnant or stressed out from all those exams you had at school this week."

"Really?" Tess sniffles

"If you were a week late or more I would be concerned but one day late is nothing. We're all a day late from time to time. I still want you to do that test in the morning to double check and if it does come out positive I want you to come talk to me. I'll go over your options with you."

"Yes ma'am."

Charlotte sits on the bed next to Tess and gives her a hug. "I love your accent." Charlotte pushes a strand of Tess's hair behind her ear, trying to cheer the sixteen year old up.

Chase looks on. "That's cuz it sounds just like your accent momma." Chase smirks.

"I know." Charlotte shrugs and smiles.

"Tess and I better get back to studying now." Chase tells Charlotte.

"For now on, I want you to study in the living room." Charlotte tells them.

"But momma, Drew's always jumping around making noise in the living room."

"You make him sound like a monkey." Charlotte scolds Chase gently. "Your brother is not a monkey."

Chase shrugs. 'You could've fooled me."

Tess laughs. Chase smiles that she's lightened up about the pregnancy scare. He's happy Charlotte talked to them and feels better that his momma knows everything.

Charlotte gets up to leave the room "Those are the new rules. If you want Tess to be able to come over to study with you, it has to be in the living room or kitchen. I'll send _the monkey_ outside to play." Charlotte teases.

"Yes ma'am." Chase and Tess pick up their books.

"One more thing." Charlotte turns to Tess. "My advice is for you to get on the pill if you're going to continue to have sex. You should use condoms also. If you need me to write a prescription I can do it for you."

"But my parents will find out. I'm covered under their health insurance plan."

"You should talk to your momma about this, but if you can't, I can give you some samples for now. You can also go to the parenthood clinic near the hospital and they'll give it to you."

"Thank you, Dr King." Tess hugs Charlotte.


	36. Chapter 36

**_CHAPTER 36_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte's sitting in her office at St. Ambose catching up on paperwork. There's a knock at the door. "Come in."<p>

Sixteen year old Tess walks through the door. "Good morning.'"

"Did the test come out positive?" Charlotte asks.

"No. It was negative." Tess tells Charlotte.

"Thank God." Charlotte looks up at the ceiling.

"I wanted to see if you could give me some of those sample pills you were talking about yesterday."

Charlotte opens up a cabinet in her office. "I'll give you a three month supply but then you have to talk to your momma about getting a prescription or go the parenthood planning center near the hospital."

"Yes ma'am." Tess takes the packets from Charlotte.

"You need to wait until you have your period to start taking 'em." Charlotte starts to explain and then you take one everyday. It's simple just follow the day on the packet after you start so if you start on a Monday…-"

"I got my period today, so can I start taking it today?"

"Yes, you can. So, you ended up only being two days late after all? It was probably the stress from those exams." Charlotte tells her.

"I think it was the stress of thinking I could be pregnant and being afraid of my parent's reaction. Ever since Chase and I slept together I was worried I could be pregnant but when the test came out negative this morning I relaxed and an hour later I got my period."

"Fancy that." Charlotte smiles, "Good for you."

"Thanks." Tess gets up to leave.

"Wait a minute Tess. You still need to use condoms even if you're on the pill. Condoms protect against sexually transmitted diseases."

"But it's my first time and Chase's first time so we don't have any of those." Tess tells Charlotte.

"That's fine but you're both young and most likely will have other partners. When you have sex with someone you're having sex with everyone they had sex with as far as diseases go."

"But I don't plan to sleep with anyone besides Chase."

"One day you may change your mind or maybe Chase will. It's better to be protected. You can never know if the person you're with is going to stay exclusive with you."

"You think Chase is going to cheat on me?" Tess asks with ideas.

"I'm not saying that. I'm going to have this same conversation with Chase when I get home. I'm just saying you need to protect yourself."

"Yes ma'am."

"So, tell me, do you miss Georgia?"

"I miss it a lot."

"Don't you like living in LA?" Charlotte asks.

"The only thing I like about LA is Chase. If it weren't for Chase I would be miserable here."

"There's a lot of fun stuff to do in LA. Did you go to the Santa Monica Pier yet?"

"Chase took me and we had fun."

There's a knock on the door. "Come in." Charlotte answer. Cole walks in.

"I'm gonna get goin' now Dr. King. Thank you for everything." Tess gets up.

"That's what I'm here for. If you have any questions about what we talked about give me a call."

"K" Tess walks out the door with the pills in her purse.

"She kinda reminds me of a young you." Cole tells Charlotte.

"Just because she has a southern accent? Shame on you, you country boy." Charlotte teases.

"Not only because of the accent but she's blonde and petite and she can be spunky. I saw her dishing it out at the party." Cole tells her.

"Should I be worried about you checking out minors because you haven't had sex in months?" Charlotte says teasing.

"I wasn't checking her out. She was sitting at my table at the party. I couldn't help but notice her sharp mouth. She reminded me of a young you."

"Well, thanks then because I really like her. She's my son's girlfriend."

Cole asks. "By the way, how would you know if I haven't had sex in months?"

"You told me you're not speakin' with Jolie and you've been staying at the hotel for almost two months."

"That doesn't mean I haven't slept with another woman."

Charlotte shakes her head. "I know you Cole. You're a true gentleman to put up with Jolie all these years. I'm sure you've been celibate since you left her."

"I happen to know you've been celibate for two months too." Cole teases.

"How would you know that?" Charlotte scews up her face.

"I just saw Cooper. He's having an EKG done down the hall."

"Cooper told you we've been celibate?"

"He didn't have to. I could tell just by looking at him. That guy is in no shape for sex."

"He had major surgery, Cole. It's going to take time to recuperate. He'll get there."

"In the mean time you're starving for it, aren't you?"

"No. I could go for as long as it takes without sex."

Cole smiles. "You're lyin'."

Charlotte smiles back. "Shame on you for comin' in my office in those Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots, tryin' to seduce me." Charlotte teases.

Cole smiles and raises his eyebrows, "I was doing no such thing. It's Saturday. This is my Saturday attire."

"Uh..huh.." Charlotte teases.

"Really…This is my Saturday attire but I'm pleased that you think I was tryin' to seduce you."

"So, why are you in my office then on a Staurday?"

"I came to visit Dylan in the pediatric unit. Dylan told me the Play Station 3 is broken. I wanted to see how I can go about donating two new Play Station 3's to the pediatric unit. These kids with cancer really need something to help them pass the time while they're getting their chemo."

"Well isn't that generous of you? You can either write me a check or buy them yourself and drop them off in my office."

"I figured as much. I'll just write you a check."

Charlotte watches Cole as he leans over her desk and writes out the check in his Wranglers and cowboy boots. "This should cover it." Cole hands her the check and leaves. Charlotte finishes up her work and goes to pick Cooper up from his standard cardiac tests.

Cooper's sitting in the waiting room waiting for her. "How'd your tests go?" Charlotte asks.

"Perfect score." Cooper answers.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"Why didn't you just walk down to my office?"

"Uh… I didn't want to bother you. I figured you had to get your work done."

"I'm done now. How about if I get you out into the sunshine today and we go to the park?"

A nurse walks over to them and asks Cooper, "Are you feeling better, Dr. Freedman? Do you need me to get you a wheelchair?"

"No. I'm okay." Cooper waves the nurse away.

The nurse continues, "That was a pretty big spill you took down the hall. It's about fifty feet to the exit from here. Do you think you could make it?"

"What happened?" Charlotte asks the nurse.

"Dr. Freedman was trying to walk to your office and he fell flat on his face. We helped him over here to the waiting area so he could sit down."

"Cooper. You have to tell me these things."

"I'm fine, my leg just gave out."

"Maybe we could get you a walker or a cane. That would help you walk until you're leg is better."

"I'm not ninety, Charlotte. Ninety year olds use walkers and canes."

"You had major surgery. You need help, Cooper. If a cane will help you walk the hell with what everyone else thinks."

"The kids will think I'm weak. I'm their dad. I want them to know I'm strong and that I can take care of them, that I can protect them."

"What will they think if you fall on your face in front of them and break your nose?"

Charlotte calls the nurse back over. "Can you please bring me a cane from the physical therapy department?"

About ten minutes later the nurse comes back with the cane. "Dr. Freedman is over six feet tall. This should be a good size for him."

"Thank you." Charlotte tells the nurse. "It's either use this or a wheelchair, Cooper."

"Fine," Cooper grumps and Charlotte helps him up. They walk down the corridor with Cooper leaning on the cane.

"See, isn't that much better? You don't have to worry about falling. If your leg starts to give out you can just lean on the cane for support."

"Okay, you were right." Cooper says as he walks with the cane. "But I'm going to practice walking and get rid of this thing soon."

"I know you will." Charlotte rubs his back.

Cole walks past them on his way out. "Have a good day," he says as he briskly strides by them. Charlotte can't help but watch him in his Wranglers and cowboy boots.

Charlotte drives with Cooper to the park to meet Andie and Drew there. "What's with the cane, daddy?" Andie asks as they approach her.

"It's temporary until I get the strength back in my leg." Cooper asserts

"When will it come back? Your surgery was almost two months ago." Andie checks out the cane.

Charlotte answers. These things take a while to heal, Andie. They cut deep into your father's leg and took out some blood vessels. It could take up to six months to get back to normal."

"It's not going to take me that long." Cooper insists. "Sam says I'm strong enough to start physical therapy Monday. Soon I'll be running past all of you."

"Good, daddy." Andie laughs.

Drew runs over. "What's that daddy?"

"It's a cane, Squirt."

"Like the old people use?"

"Yes, like the old people use but I'm not old, I just have a bad leg." Cooper sighs.

Drew sits on the bench next to Cooper. "Why is your leg bad, daddy?"

Before Cooper has a chance to explain he's interrupted by Charlotte. "Is that Noah and Marley on that bench kissing?" She points to the other side of the playground.

"Yes it is." Andie answers. "I drove them here but they wanted to go off on their own."

"Oh come on!" Charlotte says out loud, but is really talking to herself. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about with Chase and Tess this week."

"Did they tell you Tess is pregnant?" Andie asks.

"What?" Cooper exclaims, sitting on the bench.

"Relax, she's not pregnant. It was just a scare."

Andie boasts. "I warned them about it when I caught them rolling around in Chase's bed last week."

"What's been going on in my house?" Cooper looks at Charlotte. "And why am I the only one that doesn't know about it?"

Drew pipes in. "You're not the only one daddy. I don't know about it either."

"You're five, you don't need to know about it." Cooper tells Drew.

"I better go talk to Noah." Charlotte rushes off to the other side of the playground.

"Charlotte! You didn't answer my question." Cooper gets up and follows as fast as he can with his cane.

"Wow, look at daddy move with that cane!" Andie tells Drew.

Drew laughs. "He's speedy daddy!"

"As speedy as he can be." Andie laughs with Drew.

"Can you take me to the swings, Andie?" Drew points to the area across the park where the swings are located.

"Fine, I'll race you there. Last one is a rotten Drew!" Andie teases before she and Drew take off running for the swings. Once they get there Drew grabs a swing. Andie pushes Drew high into the air on the swing before she sits down on the swing next to it. She pushes off the ground to get started up but then she feels a hand on her back. "Need a push, Miss?"

She turns around to see Nicky pushing her on the swing. "What are you doing here? Are you following me?"

"No. My mother finally went out and bought us a dog. It's a nice Saturday so I took Suzie here to walk the puppy." Nicky explains.

His sister Suzie walks over with the puppy. Drew jumps off his swing to pet the pup. "What's his name?" Drew asks.

"Belle." Nicky tells him.

Suzie chimes in. "I wanted to call her Ginger because of her red fur but Nicky insisted on Belle."

"Call her Ginger!" Andie demands.

"Why?" Suzie asks while Nicky looks on.

"I'm Belle."

"Not anymore." Nicky tells her. "Unless you want to be"

"Why did you name her Belle, Nicky?" Andie holds her hands on her hips.

Nicky answers." She's a golden retriever; she had red hair like you. She's adorable like you and I love her."

"Nuh..Uh...We're calling her Ginger now." Suzie tells her brother. " I'm getting out of here. I don't want to hear anymore mushy love talk."

"Me either. I'm going with Suzie and Ginger." Drew runs after them.

Nicky sits on the swing next to Andie. "I miss you, Belle. I'm heartsick. My mom even bought me a dog to try and cheer me up."

"And you named it after me." Andie grumps.

"Because, I miss you."

"We can't go back to the way we were, Nicky."

"It's been a month, Belle. I gave you enough time to reconsider. I love you and I know you still love me. You're still wearing the charm bracelet I gave you. We either make up today or I'm gone."

"What do you mean you're gone?"

"I mean that's it. If you really don't want me around I have to move on." Nicky looks Andie in her blue eyes. " I don't want to but I can't live like this."

"I miss you too. " Andie tells Nicky. "I want to be with you, Nicky, but we can't, we're cousins."

"We're only cousins by DNA and you know that. You love me but you're so afraid of what other people think. I'm not afraid of what anyone thinks of us Belle. It's supposed to be about us. If they loved us they would want us to be happy. They just need time to process it, like we did. So, what is it gonna be, Belle?"

"I don't know. I need more time to think" Andie runs back to the playground by Drew and Suzie. Nicky sits on the swing and shakes his head.

* * *

><p>Charlotte surprises Noah and Marley who are kissing on the bench. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"<p>

Noah nearly jumps off the bench. "Momma, what are you doing here?"

"What the hell were you doing?" Charlotte demands.

"Kissing." Noah answers.

Cole walks over in his wranglers and boots. "What's going on?"

"What are you doing here?" Charlotte asks Cole.

"I came to pick Marley up. It's my Saturday to have her and Cole Jr." Cole explains.

"Oh." Charlotte says.

"What's going on?" Cole asks again.

"It seems your daughter and my son were kissin'." Charlotte tells him.

"Kissin' isn't a crime." Cole tells Charlotte.

"He's fourteen and she's thirteen." Charlotte points out.

"As long as they were just kissing, I'm okay with that."

"Kissing leads to more." Charlotte warns Cole.

"They're good kids. I trust them." Cole tells Charlotte.

"We were only practicing kissing." Marley tells Cole and Charlotte. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend so we're supposed to kiss."

"We were trying to figure out the right way." Noah adds. "So we don't look like freaks kissing at school."

Cole starts chuckling while Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Ha! Ha! They were practicing how to kiss." Cole chuckles. "Do we have the nerdiest kids or what?"

"Hey! He just called us nerds!" Noah protests.

"He said that because you're trying too hard to be cool. Practicing kissing is just silly and for your information you were doing it all wrong." Charlotte tells them.

"How were they doing it?" Cole asks.

"They looked like two fish with tongues. They were all puckered up but didn't know what to do with their tongues." Charlotte tries not to laugh.

Cole chortles out loud at the thought.

"Stop laughing at us dad and show teach us the right way." Marley challenges. "You're our parents. Who better to learn from than the two of you?"

Cole and Charlotte look at each other as if they're actually considering it for a minute before they both burst out laughing.

"I can't believe that we're more mature than our parents." Marley tells Noah.

Noah raises his eyebrows. "I haven't seen my momma laugh like that in a long time. It's kinda nice to hear her laugh."

"Yeah it is kinda nice." Marley agrees. "My dad doesn't laugh that much anymore either."

Cooper's almost made it across the playground when a small child runs into his leg, knocking him over. "Someone help my daddy!" Drew screams.

Nicky is the first one to get to Cooper. Andie runs over next. Nicky helps Cooper up. Cooper's humiliated. "I'm okay." He tells them, leaning on his cane.

"Here, lean on me." Nicky helps Cooper walk back to the bench. Andie stands on the other of Cooper helping to hold him up. Charlotte and Cole run over.

"It's okay, we got him, momma." Andie tells Charlotte.

"What the hell happened now?" Charlotte shouts out.

Drew points. "That boy was running and he knocked daddy and his cane over."

Nicky helps Cooper sit on the bench. Charlotte and Cole check Cooper's pulse and look him over for injuries. "His arm is all scraped up. I think his wrist is fractured." Cole shows Charlotte.

"I'm so sorry, Cooper." Charlotte says "I need to get you back to the hospital to have that wrist x-rayed."

"I'll drive." Nicky says. "You can sit in the backseat with your husband, Dr. King."

"Thank you," Charlotte nods.

"I want to come with you and daddy." Andie says.

"What about Drew?" Charlotte asks.

Cole offers. "I'll drive Drew and Noah home."

"Can you give my sister and the puppy a ride home too?" Nicky asks. "We live right next door to the Freedman's."

"No Problem. Good thing I took the Escalade today."

"Do you mind staying until we get home?" Charlotte asks Cole. "Drew needs adult supervision, he's a little hyper. I don't want to leave Noah and Marley in charge of him."

"I got it all under control." Cole tells Charlotte.

"Thank you. I owe you big time." Charlotte climbs into the backseat of Nicky's car next to Cooper. She scoots up close to him. "I'm so sorry you got hurt, Coop. I guess you weren't ready for an outing yet."

Cooper doesn't answer. He stares straight ahead. His wrist is broken and it's killing him but more than that he's humiliated. He's not sure if he's the equivalent of a ninety year old man or a three year old child, either way it's humiliating. He can't blame Charlotte for checking out Cole, like he saw her doing in the hospital hallway, heck, he can't blame her if she wants to cheat on him. Cooper sulks and looks at the floor while Charlotte holds his good hand.

Charlotte holds his hand and kisses his cheek. "Always and forever" She whispers in his ear and she manages to get a tiny smile out of him.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter_ 37_**

* * *

><p>Nicky pulls up to the Freedman house. "Sorry I can't get you any closer but they're playing basketball in your driveway." Cole's playing basketball with Tyler, Cole Jr, Marley, Noah, Drew and Nicky's sister, Suzie.<p>

"This is close enough. I've got my cane." Cooper thanks Nicky. Charlotte helps Cooper get out of the car. Cooper has a cast on his left wrist and a cane in his right hand. Charlotte helps him walk to the front door.

"Thanks so much!" Charlotte calls out to Cole who's all sweaty playing basketball with all the kids in the driveway.

"My pleasure." Cole shouts back. "It was a lot of fun."

"I owe you." Charlotte yells back.

"Don't worry about it." Cole shouts out as he walks to his car with Marley.

"You don't owe him anything." Cooper tells Charlotte as they walk in the front door.

"Coop, he didn't have to spend his Saturday afternoon here. He was helping us out."

"If anyone owes him, it should be me. I'm the one with the broken wrist." Cooper insists.

Charlotte helps Cooper to the couch. "I changed my mind." Cooper says. "I want to go to the bedroom."

"Okay." Charlotte helps Cooper up the steps and into the bed.

"Come! Sit next to me." Cooper pats down a spot next to him on the bed with his good wrist. Charlotte sits down and smiles at him. Cooper announces. "You're going to have to do most of the work since I have a broken wrist." Cooper begins to unbutton Charlotte's blouse with his right hand. He tries to cup her breast with the fingers of the casted hand.

Charlotte pulls away. "Coop, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" He kisses her neck.

"This isn't a good idea, Cooper" Charlotte pulls away.

"Why? Would you rather I was Cole?"

"No!" Charlotte says clearly annoyed at the last comment. She calms down a little and tells him. "You just broke your wrist. You're not ready."

"It's up to me to know if I'm ready, _not you_."

"Okay." Charlotte sighs and moves in closer and lets him kiss her. She knows he's feeling down. She doesn't want to make him feel any worse so she helps him remove his shirt. She moves her hand across his chest, feeling his scar. She moves her hand down his arm and feels his cast. "Ouch!" He winces loudly when she accidently bangs her hand into his cast. Charlotte backs away. "Cooper, you're clearly not ready for this. You're in pain and if we try to do this now it's going to end badly."

"Fine." Cooper backs up. "But I'm going to physical therapy Monday and I'm going to get stronger, Charlotte." He warns her. "I'm going to show you that I can satisfy you as good as ever in bed. You don't need Cole."

"Is that what this is about? You're jealous of Cole?" Charlotte screws up her face. "Cooper, Cole's a friend."

"He's a good looking and well fit friend."

"Cooper, you're my husband. I love you, only you. Now get over here." She pulls on his good arm.

"Why?"

"We're going to take all our clothes off and snuggle together, but we're not having sex. I seriously don't think the sex will work with you being in pain but I think we need some adult bonding time."

Cooper finishes undressing himself with his right hand and asks. "So, we're just going to get naked and lay here. We can't do anything else?"

"I didn't say that. I said no sex. It doesn't mean we can't play a little; one step at a time." Charlotte takes her clothes off and presses herself up against Cooper. "You okay?" She asks before giving Cooper a kiss on the neck. She twirls his chest hair with her fingers.

"I'm better than okay." Cooper smiles. Charlotte runs her hand down his body.

"I see you still have your libido." She flirts while gently pumping him.

"I do have that to be proud of." Cooper smiles and raises his eyebrows.

"Let me give you a reward." Charlotte leaves a trail of kisses down his chest and belly. Cooper runs his good hand through her hair. He grits his teeth together and sucks in a few breaths at the feeling of what she's doing to him. "I love you," he tells her. It doesn't take long for her to induce him into an orgasm. Afterward, he falls asleep with her naked in his arms. It's been a long day for him. She rests her head against his chest and convinces herself it's okay that she didn't get her turn to be satisfied. He has a broken wrist and all. Maybe when he wakes up she'll get her turn. She hopes so, at least, cuz it's been two months since his heart attack and she needs it bad.

* * *

><p>Nicky pulls into his driveway with Andie. He lights up a cigarette. "So, what's it gonna be, Belle, me or the highway?"<p>

"I don't know." Andie tells him.

"Listen, I love you but if you're going to let other people's opinions stand in the way, that's _your_ decision. Then, I'm going to have to move on without you."

"What do you mean move on?"

"There's this girl that comes to Giorgio's to watch our band play every Friday night. She asked me for my phone number last week. I didn't give it to her but if she's there again this week, I don't know why I shouldn't give it to her if you don't want me."

"Give her your phone number." Andie gets out of his car, slamming the door hard. She stalks over to her driveway where Tyler is still playing basketball. "Tyler, come over here!"

Tyler runs over all sweaty. "What?"

"Have you ever been to Giorgio's?"

"Yeah, it's a bar and restaurant on the water. They have an outside deck where they have a band play while you eat. It's a nice place. " Tyler tells her. "Why do you want to know?"

"You want to go eat with me there this Friday night?" Andie asks. "My treat."

"Yeah, sure" Tyler smiles.

"Good. You could go back to playing now."

Chase and Tess walk up the driveway. Andie calls out to them. "Congrats! I hear you're _not_ pregnant!"

"Knock it off, Andie, we're not in the mood. I heard dad got hurt?" Chase asks.

"He's fine, just a broken wrist."

"We're going to go check on him now. See ya Andie."

Andie calls out after him. "Hey Chase, since momma and dad are home, you can't bang Tess in your room now!" Andie teases. "I told you about the barn at the Ross Stabiles. You two might as well use it, nobody else is using it anymore."

Tess and Chase choose to ignore Andie and walk into the house. "We can't use the barn tonight anyway since I have my period." Tess whispers to Chase.

"How long does your period last?"

"About five days, why?"

"We could go this Friday night. It'll be perfect since we have no school, Saturday. Maybe we could stay there all night."

"I like the way you think, Chase Freedman." Tess gives him a short, little kiss on the lips. "Now let's go see how your father is doing?" Tess and Chase walk up the stairs. They knock on the master bedroom door but nobody answers, so they open it. Their eyes pop open at the sight of Charlotte and Cooper spooned up together sound asleep with no clothes on. Chase quietly closes the door so as not to wake them. Tess and Chase tiptoe quietly to Chase's bedroom.

Once they get to his bedroom, Chase blurts out, "Oh my God! I'm scarred for life." He covers his eyes with the palm of his hand. "That was worse than walking in on my sister and Nicky."

"I think they looked good for people in their fifties." Tess tells Chase. " I can't believe they're still doing it. They must have been super hot when they were younger if they look like that now."

"They _were_ super horny." Chase tells her.

"They told you that?"

"No, when we were little kids, me and Andie were playing in the attic and found these sex outfits. There was a Little Bo Peep costume and a sexy Maid outfit and a leather cat suit. There were these whips and little string thongs for men. Andie and I were playing with their sex toys one day. We had no idea what they were. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack when Andie was using the whip on me. Years later, I figured out why. It was her sex whip she used on my dad."

"That's so funny." Tess laughs. "Maybe we should ask your momma for some tips for Friday night."

"No way! I'm not askin' my momma. We'll it figure out just like they did."

"Your family rocks." Tess tells Chase. "My parents are boring."

"That's okay. Sometimes boring is cool." Chase tells Tess before kissing her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks for your reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter =)<strong>_


	38. Chapter 38

**_CHAPTER 38_**

* * *

><p>Noah's the first to walk in the kitchen. "What happened in here?" He asks.<p>

"I'm cooking breakfast." Cooper turns to look at him.

"With a broken arm?"

"Yes with a broken wrist." Cooper holds his cast up while he flips pancakes with his right hand. "It's a little awkward but do...able."

"Wait 'til momma sees the kitchen. It's a mess."

Cooper suggests. "Why don't you be my left hand and clean it up for me before your momma wakes up."

"Ha, ha, I get it, be your left hand since you're left wrist is in a cast."

"You got it, Einstein. There's no letting anything slip by you." Cooper teases.

"Why are you doing this?" Noah cleans the dishes in the sink.

"I want to surprise your mother and make a big Sunday morning breakfast like I used to do before the heart attack."

"You want me to throw the grits on the stove for momma?" Noah asks while wiping the counter top.

"I want you to _place_ the grits in the pot not _throw_ them on the stove."

"It's just an expression, dad." Noah rolls his eyes.

"You know, you look just like your mother when you do that."

"Do what?" Noah asks.

"This." Cooper rolls his eyes at Noah.

Andie waltzes in the kitchen "What's going on in here?"

"We're making breakfast." Noah tells her.

"Ha ha...This should be good." Andie heckles. "Daddy with a broken wrist and Noah cooking breakfast together. I need to get a picture of this." Andie takes her phone out of her pocket.

"Stop goofing off and set the table." Cooper tells Andie "I want everything to be perfect when your mother comes down."

Andie sets the table and makes coffee. She puts some juice out on the table.

Drew runs in the kitchen. "Yay! Daddy's making breakfast. I love daddy's pancakes."

Charlotte and Chase come in the kitchen at the same time. Chase can't make eye contact with either one of his parents after what he saw yesterday so he says "Good morning," with his face poked in the Sunday paper.

"What is all this?" Charlotte admires the breakfast display of pancakes and eggs with grits and biscuits. "Did you do this?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"I did." He smiles.

"And you're okay? You were able to stand and flip the pancakes with one hand."

"Ask Noah. He's my witness."

"He did momma. I saw him."

Charlotte sits at the table. "I'm amazed. What a big difference since yesterday."

"I just needed a little incentive." Cooper gives Charlotte a sly grin.

"If I knew it would help you this much, I would've given you that incentive a long time ago." Charlotte smiles at Cooper. It's an inside joke.

Chase rolls his eyes from behind the newspaper.

Charlotte continues, "I thought that incentive wouldn't be good for you, I guess I was wrong."

"That's how I roll." Cooper boasts. "It was more of a problem for me that I _wasn't_ getting any incentive."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Noah asks. "What incentive?"

"Never mind. Noah. "Charlotte says. "It's between your father and I."

"The incentive is how your momma and I roll, boy, you wouldn't understand." Cooper's obviously in a very good mood this morning.

"Are you high on pain meds for your wrist, dad?" Andie asks.

"No," Cooper screws up his face. "I'm not high on pain meds."

"You're acting like you're high."

"I'm happy not high." Cooper tells Andie.

"What's high?" Drew asks.

Cooper looks at Charlotte. Charlotte sighs. Her kids have no idea that she used to get high on pain meds. She doesn't feel they need to know that right now.

Cooper answers. "High is when you take drugs to make you feel good; but it's not good to get high."

"Why not?" Drew asks. "If it makes you feel good, it must be good."

Charlotte answers "It's not good because those drugs also make you do things that you wouldn't normally do."

"Yeah," Noah answers. "Some kids think they're Superman and can jump off tall buildings when they're high."

"Cool!" Drew exclaims.

"It's not cool, Drew" Charlotte explains. "Because they aren't really Superman and if they jump off those buildings they'll kill themselves."

"Oh, that's not cool." Drew answers.

"No. It's not cool to get high." Charlotte looks around at all four of her kids. "You lose control of who you are when you're high."

Andie asks Cooper, "So, if you're not high on pain meds, then why are you in such a good mood all the sudden today?" Andie asks. "Yesterday you were a mess."

Cooper looks at his daughter "Gee, thanks a lot." Cooper takes a bite of his pancake.

"I mean you fell down at the park and broke your wrist. That's all daddy." Andie sips her juice.

Drew adds "And you've been sad since grandma died, you just stay in your bed but today you're all happy and made us breakfast."

Noah chimes in. "It does seem like you're high on those pain killers they gave you."

"For the last time, I'm not high." Cooper tells his kids. He looks at Charlotte "I got some incentive yesterday that made me change my way of thinking about things." Cooper answers.

"What was the incentive?" Andie asks.

"Sorry, that's top secret." Charlotte sips her coffee.

Chase nearly chokes on his breakfast because he knows what the incentive is. He's still hiding his face behind the Sunday Newspaper unable to look at his parents without the image of them lying naked in bed together popping into his head.

Cooper asks. "So does anybody know what day it is?"

"It's Sunday!" Drew calls out.

"Right!" Cooper tells him. "It is Sunday but it's also family day. The Freedman family is going to the Santa Monica Pier today."

"But, I was going to hang out with Tess today." Chase finally peeks his head out from behind the paper and protests.

"Bring her along." Cooper insists.

"I was going to play Little Big Planet on the play station today. I need to beat my last score." Drew protests.

"No way, Squirt." Noah tousles Drew's hair. "I'm playing Battlefield against Dylan on the play station today."

Cooper holds his right hand up. "It's a beautiful Sunday out. No video games today. We're going to the pier."

Drew and Noah huff and pout at the same time.

Cooper looks at Drew. "I know someone who loves the icee's and cotton candy at the pier."

"Me!" Drew jumps up and smiles.

"Doesn't that beat staying home and playing a video game?" Charlotte asks Drew before turning her attention to Noah. "And I know someone who loves to ride the Pacific Plunge over and over again."

"Noah!" Drew points.

"Alright, I'll go." Noah agrees.

"It's going to be a fun day." Cooper high five five year old Drew.

"Yay daddy's happy again. I like happy daddy."

Charlotte smiles at Cooper. "Me too."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review!<strong>_


	39. Chapter 39

**_Chapter 39_**

* * *

><p>It's 11am Sunday morning. The Freedman family arrive at the Santa Monica Pier along with Tess. Cooper has his cane for extra support. "I'm proud of you." Charlotte give him a peck on the lips.<p>

"None of that today." Chase tells his parents. "It's family day."

Tess holds Chase's hand and smirks.

"Okay," Cooper asks, "What does the Freedman family want to do the first?"

Drew yells out first "The Pirate ship!"

Noah yells "I want to go on the West Coaster first!"

"If I had my choice I pick the Pacific Plunge." Cooper adds.

"You can't go on any of those Cooper. They all have warnings not to ride if you have a heart condition." Charlotte warns.

"I can go on the Pacific Wheel." Cooper says, "I know I can handle that."

"Then we got our Pacific Wheel it is."

The Freedman family ride the Ferris Well together. They're laughing and talking about it when Tess points out "Isn't that Tyler over there waiting on line for the Pacific Plunge?" The Freeman family looks over to see Tyler standing with his father, Cole, and his siblings, Dylan, Marley and Cole Jr.

"Yes it is. I wanna go on that." Andie answers. After they all get off the Ferris wheel, Andie runs over to Tyler who's standing on line with Cole, Marley and Cole Jr. and Dylan"

The rest of the Freedman family makes their way over to meet up with Tyler and his family. "Hey Dylan's here! Nice to see you Dylan." Cooper says leaning on his cane.

"What happened to you?" Dylan asks Cooper, looking at his cast.

"I fell in the park yesterday but I'm fine."

"Cool hat." Noah tells Dylan who's wearing a fedora style hat to hide his hair loss from the chemo.

"I love fedora's" Andie tells him.

"Thanks." Dylan responds.

"Who want to go on the West Coaster with me?" Noah asks.

"I will." Marley grabs his hand.

"I'll go on the coaster. That's the coolest ride here." Cole Jr says.

"Can I go with them, dad?" Dylan asks.

"I suppose it'll be okay. Just try not to get knocked around too much. I don't want to bring you back to your mother full of bruises." The group of thirteen year old's run for the roller coaster.

"Does Amelia know you took Dylan here?" Charlotte asks.

"No. Dylan's my son too. I made the decision for him to have some fun and be a normal kid for a day."

"Didn't he just have chemo?" Cooper asks.

"He was discharged from the hospital yesterday after he finished his chemo."

"How were his counts?" Cooper asks.

"His counts were normal, Cooper, or I wouldn't have brought him to a place like this."

"You are aware that the counts drop in the days following chemo?" Cooper asks.

"Yes, I'm aware but his counts yesterday were very good. I don't have a death wish for my son."

"We know that Cole."

Charlotte tells him. "Cooper's just concerned because he's Dylan's pediatrician."

Cole responds. "I'm even more concerned because I'm his father. I'm also concerned that he gets out and has some fun. Amelia and Sheldon keep him locked up in the house like a hermit."

Cooper tells Cole. "That's because they want Dylan to stay alive. They don't want him to pick up an infection that his body can't fight off."

Cole gets defensive. "I want my son to live a long _full_ life, not a life in a bubble, and I already told you his counts were good when he was discharged from the hospital yesterday."

"That was yesterday and he received chemo yesterday." Cooper insists."You don't know what his counts are today."

"Cooper, can I talk to you a minute?" Charlotte takes Cooper's good arm and gently pulls him away from Cole. They find a bench to sit on.

"I know what you're going to say." Cooper tells Charlotte. "I'm only looking out for Dylan. You know the blood counts always drop after chemo."

"Yes but usually not this soon. Dylan should be okay. Cole just wants him to feel like a normal kid. He's riding the roller coaster right now. That's a good thing."

"Places like this are breeding grounds for bacteria and germs, Charlotte, I'm worried Dylan will pick something up and not be able to fight it off if his blood counts are low."

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler ride the Pacific Plunge with Cole and Drew. "Let's ditch my father after this ride." Tyler tells Andie.<p>

"No. Let your father hang with us." Andie tells him.

"Why?"

"Because the only ride my dad can go on is the Pacific Wheel so I have to take Drew on the pirate ship and the scrambler. If your father is tagging along he can watch Drew and we can have some fun."

"You're sneaky, Andie Freedman, pawning your lil' bro off on my dad to watch."

"The kids are all having a great time. Thanks for thinking to do this today." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"I'm sorry you're stuck sitting on the bench with me. I know you want to ride the roller coaster. It's always been your favorite."

"That's okay."

Cooper calls Cole over. "Can you do me a favor, man?"

"What?" Cole asks, still annoyed at Cooper.

"Can you ride the Pacific Coaster with my wife? It's her favorite and she has nobody to ride with. Drew's too short and Andie ran off with Tyler. Noah's with Marley and I don't even know where Chase and Tess went.

"Cooper?" Charlotte's clearly embarrassed.

"I'll ride the coaster with you." Cole tells Charlotte and grabs her hand.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"I'll take Drew for a snack." Cooper looks at Drew. "What'll it be Fun Dots or cotton candy?"

Cotton Candy!" Drew jumps up and down.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea?" Charlotte tells Cooper.

"I think it's a great idea." Drew tells his momm.

"You would, Squirt," Charlotte laughs.

Cole pulls Charlotte towards the roller coaster. "See you in a few minutes." She yells to Cooper and Drew.

Charlotte and Cole ride the roller coaster three times since the line isn't too bad. Cole grabs her hand every time they go down the drop. "That was a blast." Charlotte tells Cole as they walk back to the bench to meet Cooper and Drew. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun." Cole smiles at her and Charlotte realizes she shouldn't have said that. She corrects herself "I have fun, I just haven't been on a roller coaster lately."

Cole laughs." No need to explain. I had fun being whipped around and up and down with you too."

"How was it?" Cooper asks as they approach the bench.

"Great." Cole answers. "It was so great we rode it three times."

"Really?" Cooper looks at Charlotte.

Charlotte shrugs. "There was no line." Charlotte takes bite of Drew's cotton candy."

"Daddy can eat cotton candy because it made of all sugar and no fat but he can't have the funnel cake." Drew tells Charlotte and Cole.

Cooper tells Charlotte" Drew's very concerned about what I eat. He kept telling me I couldn't have cotton candy but I can, Squirt." Cooper takes a big fluff of candy and puts it in his mouth and then slurps on an icee.

"Yuck." Charlotte tells him." You and Drew _both_ are going to be on a sugar high after that snack."

"I can't go on the rides. I gotta have some fun too." Cooper shrugs.

"Why don't we play some of the games while the kids are on the rides?" Charlotte suggests.

"But I wanna go on the pirate ship. That's my favorite ride." Drew tells Cooper.

"I'll take him on it." Cole says. "My kids all ditched me so I need a ride buddy."

"Yay!" Drew jumps up and down. Cole picks him up and puts him on his shoulders. Cooper scowls.

"Now, what can you play with one arm?" Charlotte looks at Cooper.

"Let's start with the ring toss." Cooper tries three times but doesn't win. Next they throw darts at balloons to pop them. Cooper finally wins playing Break a Plate. Charlotte's so excited for him, she jumps up and down and hugs him. "Now I see where Drew gets it." Cooper laughs.

"What?" Charlotte smiles and protests his last comment. "Can't I be happy you won something?"

"Am I that pathetic, Charlotte?"

"No. I just love you." Charlotte kisses his cheek.

"How much cotton candy did _you_ have?" Cooper jokes. Charlotte picks out a white puppy dog with pink ears.

Drew runs over. "Now I can't hold it momma cuz it has pink ears."

"Sorry, Squirt but daddy won this for me."

"I'll win you something too, Squirt." Cooper plays more games. Charlotte ends up going on the Scrambler and the Frog Hopper with Drew and Cole while Cooper tries to win a prize for Drew. They ride the pirate ship and the scrambler again until Charlotte sees Cooper has a dog with blue ears in his hand. She's relieved for Cooper's sake that he was able to do that for Drew since he can't ride the rides with him or carry him around on his shoulders like Cole can.

"Yay, Daddy won me a puppy with blue ears." Drew's all excited and Cooper beams from ear to ear.

Charlotte and Cole's phones buzz at the same time. They call the strange number. "Did you get the same phone call as me?" Cole asks Charlotte after he hangs up.

Charlotte answers. 'If the park security office just called you than yes."

"What happened?" Cooper asks.

"The kids did something to get themselves thrown out of the park." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Which ones'?"

"I'm assuming Noah since Cole got the call too and he's got three thirteen year old's that Noah was hanging out with."

"Let's go." Cooper says. Cole is way up ahead of them on his way to the security and first aid station."

"Where are you going?" Andie calls out to Charlotte.

"To the first aide and security station." Charlotte answers.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Charlotte tells her. "I got a call that there was a problem with some kids and one of those kids gave them my number to call. Andie and Tyler follow them to the security area. When they get there they're told that the kids are in the first aide station. When they get there they see that Cole Jr is all scraped up and Noah's eye is all red. His lip is also bleeding.

"Did you guys get in a fight? Cooper asks.

"Yes." Noah answers.

"You know better than that Noah!" Charlotte scolds.

Marley tells her. "It wasn't Noah and Cole Jr.'s fault. These kids from school were on the roller coaster. They were sitting behind Cole Jr. and Dylan. They pulled Dylan's fedora hat off and threw it while we were on the ride. Then they started laughing at him because he's bald."

Charlotte looks horrified. "Is Dylan okay?"

"After we got off the ride, Dylan wanted to fight them. It was two against one so Cole Jr. and Noah had to help out cuz Dylan's got cancer and he shouldn't be fighting."

Cooper tells Noah. "I'm proud of you for sticking up for Dylan. I don't like you to fight but in this case I'm proud you did."

The security officer comes over and hands them the fedora(hat). "We were able to retrieve the hat for you."

"Thank you." Charlotte takes the hat.

"Where are your father and Dylan now?" Charlotte looks around for Cole and asks Marley.

"My dad took Dylan to the car because Dylan didn't want every one to see him bald." Marley tells them "Tyler took his own car here so he can drive me and Cole Jr. home."

"I'm ready to roll." Tyler tells Marley. "Andie and I hit all the rides at least once already."

"I think we're done for the day too." Marley answers. The kids run up ahead to the car. Cooper tells Charlotte. "I feel really sorry for Cole."

"Why?" Charlotte asks.

"Amelia's going to give him a fit because he took Dylan here and Jolie's going to give him a fit because Cole Jr. got into his first fight." Cooper tells her.

"I think you're right." Charlotte nods her head in agreement as they approach their car.

"Yep. I don't envy Cole tonight." Cooper smiles slightly. "I'm glad I'm me and not him right now." The Freedman Family drives home from their Sunday at the pier.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Did I tell you how much I love your feedback and reviews? Cuz, I do, a lot! =)<strong>_


	40. Chapter 40

**_Chapter 40_**

* * *

><p>It's Wednesday evening. Violet and Pete invited their friends over since Lucas surprised them over the weekend and came home for Violet's birthday. He's going back to Yale this Friday morning so they decided to throw together a dinner party Wednesday night for Lucas to see everyone.<p>

Charlotte and Cooper arrive at the dinner party. They sit down on the couch next to Sheldon and Amelia. "You look much better Cooper than the last time I saw you." Sheldon says.

Copper laughs. "Now, all I have to do is shed this cast and this cane and I'll be good as new."

"Did you bring Dylan and Sara?" Charlotte asks.

Amelia answers "Sara's in the kitchen helping Violet decorate cupcakes for desert. Did you bring Drew? Sara's been waiting for him. She loves her little buddy, Drew."

"And for the life of me I can't understand why." Sheldon blurts out. Amelia hits him in the arm when she notices Charlotte's mouth drop open.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte, but your son is a little hellion." Sheldon tells her.

"He's not a hellion," Cooper explains. "We know he's a little hyper but he's five. He'll calm down."

"He's a little hyper, Cooper? He nearly destroyed my house when he stayed there for a week while you were in the hospital."

Amelia squeezes Sheldon's arm. "He's only five, honey. And our children aren't perfect angels either."

"Sara is." Sheldon says as he dips his chips. "Dip, Cooper?" Sheldon holds the bowl out to offer Cooper some chips and dip.

"It's not on my diet." Cooper pushes the bowl away.

"Is Dylan here?" Charlotte asks.

"No." Amelia tells her. "He has fever so we left him home. We're thinking of getting a lawyer to look into gaining full custody of Dylan."

"Why would you want to do that?" Charlotte asks. "Cole loves Dylan and he's a great father."

"As you know, Cole took Dylan to the pier Sunday after he just had a chemo treatment on Saturday." Amelia tells them.

Cooper crunches on a carrot stick. "Cole said Dylan's counts were good when he left the hospital Saturday."

"They were but you know they usually drop after chemo. Now Dylan has a low grade fever. We were happy that if Dylan had to have cancer, he had stage two Hodgkin's because it has an excellent prognosis. The scariest part is the chemo because it wipes his counts out and he can get very sick. As long as he can handle the chemo side effects, beating his cancer is a piece of cake." Amelia tells them.

Sheldon adds. "Cole insists on exposing Dylan to people and germs. _We_ keep Dylan home where he's safe."

Charlotte tells them. "Cole wants Dylan to feel like a normal kid and do things that normal kids do. He wants Dylan to be happy."

"And that would be fine if Dylan didn't have Hodgkin's but he does and Cole's negligent in caring for him." Amelia shoots.

"He did a great job raising Tyler. Tyler turned out to be quite a gentleman." Charlotte tells Amelia.

Amelia explains. "I can't stand Jolie but I give her the credit for raising Tyler. She may be a pain in the ass but she's a responsible mother."

Charlotte tells Amelia. "I knew Cole before he met Jolie and he was a responsible single father to Tyler."

"I beg to differ, Charlotte." Sheldon chimes in. "If you recall Jolie kidnapped Tyler from the hospital when he was four because she thought Cole was abusing him."

"And Jolie was wrong. Cole wasn't abusin' Tyler." Charlotte answers.

Sheldon tells. "But his grandfather was and Cole either let it happen or was negligent in knowing it was happening. Tyler was his responsibility and he failed him. Who knows what would have happened to Tyler if Jolie didn't intervene and discover the grandfather was abusing him?" Sheldon dips another chip and eats it.

Amelia deadpans. "I didn't mind Cole taking Dylan for the weekends when he was with Jolie but now that they split, I don't want Cole to be soley responsible for him."

"Oh, boy," Cooper sighs. "Can we change the subject? So, how bout those Lakers?"

Amelia, Sheldon and Charlotte stay quiet and munch on snacks while Cooper tells them about the Lakers' game.

Chase walks in the party with Tess and introduces her to Lucas. Lucas high fives him.

Andie and Tyler come in together and notice Danielle's hanging on Lucas' arm. Tyler gripes "I knew I shouldn't have come here. Look they're back together already."

"Well." Andie sighs. "You did predict they would get back together since Danielle got accepted into Yale."

"They didn't even wait for her to start her first semester at Yale yet." Tyler complains.

"Just deal with it, Tyler." Andie advices. "There's not much else you can do."

"Now I have to go up there and say hi to my best friend with my ex hanging on his arm." Tyler gripes. "It doesn't feel good, Andie."

"Would it help if I held your hand?" Andie asks.

Tyler nods." It would help, a lot."

"Then, here you go." Andie puts her hand out and they go up to greet Lucas and Danielle.

"Hey Lucas!" Tyler pretends to be happy for his best friend.

"Hey bro!" Lucas pats Tyler on the back. "We got some catching up to do. I see you're still dating little Andie after all this time; that's awesome. I really didn't expect you two would last this long."

Tyler and Andie look at each other and then look at Danielle. Danielle obviously never told Lucas that she was not only dating _but_ sleeping with Tyler while Lucas was at Yale. Lucas seems to think that Tyler and Andie were dating while he was away at school.

"Yeah." Tyler tells Lucas "I have a lot to catch you up on later." Tyler looks at Danielle who's starting to look nervous. Tyler and Andie sit in the corner where it's quieter.

"You never told Lucas that you were dating Danielle when you spoke to him on the phone?" Andie asks.

"It's not like we're a couple of gossipy girls and talked on the phone every week." Tyler shrugs. "And no, I never mentioned to him I was dating Danielle. I was going to let Danielle be the one to tell him but I guess she never did." Tyler takes a sip of beer. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Are you really going to tell Lucas about you and Danielle now?" Andie asks. "Is that what you meant when you said you needed to catch him up on stuff later?"

"No. It's not going to change anything for me if I did. Danielle's still going away to school and we'll still be broken up. I just said that to make Danielle sweat."

"It worked." Andie laughs. "I'm sure she's gonna come over here and drill us about what you plan to catch Lucas up on, any minute."

"What do ya think, Andie? Should I let her sweat it out or tell her I'll keep my mouth shut?"

"Hmmm…I think you should let her sweat it out for the dinner party but tell her at the end that you never planned on saying anything."

"Ain't revenge sweet?" Tyler smiles.

"So, are we still on for Friday night at Georgio's to watch the band?"

"I called and got us a table right in front of the stage." Tyler tells her.

"I don't want to be that close to the stage. Tell them we want a secluded table. Restaurants always have them."

"You want a secluded table? What do you plan on doing to me at this restaurant?" Tyler teases.

"Nothing. Just get us a secluded table. It would be great if you could get us a secluded table up front so we get a good view of the band but they can't see us."

"Geez, you're demanding." Tyler tells her. "This wouldn't happen to be Nicky's band that we want to see but that we don't want to see us?"

"How'd you know?" Andie asks.

"Why else would you make a request like that? What's going on with you and him anyway?"

"Honest?"

"No. I want you to lie to me." Tyler teases.

"I love Nicky but as everyone now knows he's my cousin so I can't be with him."

"Kissing cousins?" Tyler chuckles.

"Shut up. It isn't funny. We fell in love before we knew we were cousins but now my dad is getting chummy with his mom and it feels more like cousins so I broke up with him."

"But?"

"But, I still love him and he still loves me. He thinks I'm an idiot for letting what other people think get in the way." Andie tells Tyler.

"At the end of the day you have to do what's right for you and what's easier to live with." Tyler advices.

"Right now it's easier to be apart." Andie says. "The cousin thing has been bothering me ever since my dad and his mom started to bond."

"So there's your answer."

"Not really, because there have been so many times that I agree with Nicky that I shouldn't worry about what other people think of us. There have been so many times that I almost knocked on his door and said let's run away together; but this little voice always stops me."

"Little voice?" Tyler raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah, it sounds just like my momma. It has a southern accent and says,_ Sweet Pea_, _if you run off with Nicky it'll break both your father and my heart, not to mention your younger brothers who look up to you._"

Tyler smiles. "That little voice is your conscience."

"I know if I ran off with Nicky, I'd have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life so I'd never do it. I never knock on his door even though I'm dying too."

"So, why are we spying on him Friday night?"

"He gave me an ultimatum that if I didn't get back together with him last week he was going to go out with this girl who likes him. He says she goes to Giorgio's every Friday to watch him play and she asked him for his number."

"Aha, so you want to see if this girl really exists?" Tyler asks.

"I wanna see what she looks like."

"You're tormenting yourself. If you're not going to go out with him you should make a clean break and let him go with this other girl."

"I just need to see who's going to steal Nicky's heart from me." Andie's eyes tear up.

"Come on, stop it now or you're going to make me cry. Danielle's going to think I'm crying over her and Lucas. You don't want to do that to me do you?"

Andie laughs and wipes a tear away from her eye. Tyler makes silly faces at her and she laughs even more.

Noah arrives at the dinner party with Marley and her twin brother, Cole Jr. "Excuse me." Noah tells the twins I need to talk to Lila a minute. "He finds Lila in the kitchen helping Violet with last minute dinner preparations. "The lasagna looks great, Aunt Violet."

"Thank you, Noah. It's Lucas favorite dinner from me."

Noah nods. "Can I talk to you outside a minute Lila?"

"Sure." Lila takes her apron off and puts it on five year old Sara who's shaking sprinkles on the kids cupcakes.

"What do you need?" Lila asks.

"Do you know that those two guys you hang out with at school, Benn and Will are the same ones I had a fight with at the pier?"

"I heard about it." Lila answers.

"Do you know they pulled Dylan's hat off and threw it off the ride? Then they made fun of him for being bald."

"Dylan got his hat back." Lila defends the boys. "They just thought it would be fun. How many times have you been on a ride and wanted to pull the person's hat off in front of you, but didn't?"

"But didn't is the key, and Dylan isn't anybody with a hat. He has cancer."

"They didn't know that. Benn and Will are your age. They're eighth graders like you. They don't know Dylan, he's in seventh grade. They didn't know he had cancer. They thought he was some weird kid who shaved his head." Lila explains.

"Then they're dumb. If he was a weird kid who shaved his head why would he cover it up with a hat?"

"Maybe they thought he was protecting his head from the sun. They didn't know he had cancer. They were just having innocent fun. I have to help my mom make the garlic bread now." Lila goes back in the house.

Five year old Drew runs eagerly into the kitchen to meet Sara. "Wow, buddy, you almost knocked me over." Violet tells the rambunctious five year old who just ran into her as she was taking the hot lasagna pan out of the oven."

"Help decorate cupcakes with me!" Sara calls out.

"K" Drew climbs up on the counter and sits on top of it to decorate the cupcakes. After they're done. Drew stands up and jumps off the counter. Sara copies him. "That was fun. Let's do it again" The two of them climb up and jump off the counter until Violet walks back in the kitchen. "If your parents knew you were doing that I'm sure you'd both be grounded."

"Are you going to tell on us, Aunt Violet?" Sara asks.

"No, but go find something constructive to do, like help Uncle Pete. He's in the living room mixing up drinks for the adults. Maybe you two could be in charge of stirring the drinks."

"Yeah!" Drew and Sara charge into the living room and jump on Pete's back making him drop the drink he was mixing. Sheldon's watching. "Now, do you see what I mean about him?"

Cooper answers. "I was watching. Sara did the same exact thing, Sheldon! She tried to jump on Pete's shoulders."

"Because she saw Drew do it so many times."

"Copying is the sincerest form of flattery." Charlotte tells Sheldon before she gets up to get Drew to come sit by her side.

"I can't believe your little brother just did that?" Tess tells Chase.

"What did he do?" Chase asks. "I wasn't looking. I was blinded by your beauty."

Tess hits Chase in the arm. "That's the most cheesey line I ever heard. Don't ever say it to me again."

"What? I can't tell you that you're beautiful?"

"You've already seen me naked. You could stop with the smooth talk."

"But I mean it. You are beautiful. You remind me of my mother."

"You're lucky your mother is hot momma, because that's not a smart line to use to get a girl in bed; to tell her she reminds you of your mother." Tess laughs. "What's with all the compliments? I already agreed to go with you to that barn on Friday night."

"I can't wait. I want it to be special, like the first time, all over again."

"We already had our first time. That shipped sailed." Tess tells him.

"Yeah, but it wasn't planned. We were in such a rush to get in each others pants. This time I have something planned to make it special for us."

Tess nods her head. She doesn't say anything but she has something special planned for Friday night too.


	41. Chapter 41

**_Chapter 41_**

* * *

><p>Cooper hops into bed alongside Charlotte. "What are you reading?" He looks over her shoulder at her kindle.<p>

"The sequel to The Hunger Games. Why?" Charlotte doesn't look up from her kindle.

"Are you at a good part?"

Charlotte turns her head now to look at him. "Why?"

Cooper raises his eyes up and down. "I thought we could play our own games tonight."

Charlotte smiles. "That's why you're in bed so early?"

"I just read to Drew and tucked him in for the night. So, there's no reason momma and daddy can't play some of their own games."

"Well then." Charlotte lifts her chin up to kiss Cooper. Cooper wraps his arms around her leaning on top of her. They're fully engulfed in a kiss when the bedroom door opens.

"Momma, I can't sleep." Five year old Drew jumps on the bed.

Charlotte and Cooper break their kiss. Cooper looks at his son. "Didn't anyone ever teach you how to knock, Squirt?"

"I forgot." The little mini Charlotte nestles himself in between them. "I wanna sleep with you tonight."

"No." Charlotte tells him. "This is mommy and daddy's bed. You have your own bed."

"But I'm all alone in my bed. You have daddy to keep you company."

Cooper tousles Drews blonde hair. "I slept alone when I was your age and so did your momma."

Drew whispers to Cooper. "I don't think I'm alone in there."

"Why not?" Cooper asks.

"There's a monster hiding under my bed. Don't tell anyone or he'll eat us."

"Good grief, Drew." Charlotte rolls her eyes. "How many time have I told you there's no monster hiding under your bed?"

"I'm not going back in there alone!" Drew folds his arms tight against his chest.

Cooper suggests. "How about if we all go in your room and do a monster check?"

"Okay, but you have to go in first." Drew tells Cooper.

The three of them walk into Drew's room. Cooper looks under the bed. "All clear, no monsters here, just a pair of old sneakers."

Charlotte opens the closet. "All clear, no monsters in here either."

Drew looks under the bed and then runs to check the closet.

"Okay, Squirt." Cooper laughs a little. "Now, let me tuck you in _again."_

_"_Can one of you stay with me? I don't want to stay alone in case the monster comes back."

Charlotte looks at Cooper and sighs. "Scoot over, Squirt, make room for momma." Cooper looks at her. "What about _our_ games?"

"It'll have to wait. Monsters are priority tonight." Charlotte tells him.

"I'll be waiting for you in our room until _our littlest monster_ falls asleep."

"Hopefully it won't be too long." Charlotte tells Cooper before he leaves the room.

Charlotte puts her arm around Drew. "It's okay, Squirt, you can close your eyes now, momma's here. I'm not going to let any monsters eat you."

"I'm lucky to have you, momma." Drew tells Charlotte before he closes his eyes. Charlotte's heart melts, she thinks she's the lucky one.

* * *

><p>Friday night is finally here. Andie waits anxiously with Tyler while they eat a late dinner at Giorgio's waiting for Nicky's band to come on stage to play. They're sitting at a table outside on the deck that overlooks the ocean. Andie feels a knot form in her stomach when she hears them announce that the band is about to take stage. Their table is off to the side but they have a good view of the stage. Andie has her long reddish blonde hair pulled up. She's wearing a floppy hat with white rimmed sunglasses to disguise herself even though the sun has already gone down. She borrowed a black business jacket and a blue blouse from her momma's closet. It's something that Andie would never wear. Tyler's wearing sunglasses and a cap with long dark hair hanging down from it to hide his blonde hair just in case Nicky looks over in their direction.<p>

"I feel like it's halloween, wearing this hat. How do you like me with long hair?" Tyler chuckles.

"It looks fine." Andie says nervously. "He'll never recognize us."

"I hope not because we'll look like idiots if he knows we did all this to spy on him." Tyler groans.

Andie frowns. "I don't even want to think about what my momma would say if she saw me wearing her business suit with this floppy hat on."

"Yeah, you do look strange but your momma would love you anyway." Tyler teases.

"I'm sure she would have something rude to say. Chase is her favorite, not me." Andie complains.

"Why is Chase her favorite?" Tyler asks.

"Because he would never do something like this." Andie quirks an eyebrow up.

"You mean, go out to a restaurant in disguise to spy on his cousin 'slash' lover?" Tyler chuckles.

"Stop Tyler!" Andie demands. "I need _someone_ to be on my side."

"Okay." Tyler gets serious. "I'm on your side." Tyler bites into a roll. "So, Chase is really your momma's favorite child?"

Andie nods. "Chase has always been a momma's boy and it doesn't hurt that he looks exactly like my father. My momma loves my father to pieces."

"So, if your father did something to make your momma hate him then Chase wouldn't be your momma's favorite anymore?"

"Course he would." Andie bites into her roll. "She gave birth to him and raised him up from a baby."

"You're her first born and the only girl. Why aren't you her favorite?" Tyler asks.

"My daddy says me and momma are so much a like that it makes us clash sometimes."

"Are you like your mother?"

"I guess. I don't like talkin' to my parents about stuff, especially to my momma _and_ my momma said she never liked to talk either." Andie takes a sip of water. "She didn't even tell my dad that she was married before until they were really serious and living together. My dad got mad and broke up with her over it."

"Good thing they got back together or there would be no Andie, Chase, Noah or Drew." Tyler takes another roll from the basket.

"My dad's a forgiving man."

"Chase may be a momma's boy but _you_ are a daddy's girl."

"Why do you say that?" Andie asks.

"You're taking your dad's side. Maybe your mother had a good reason for not telling him she was married before."

"I would never tell such a big lie to the man I love." Andie tells Tyler.

"Wow." Tyler says. "It wasn't a lie if she just didn't tell him."

"It's a lie of omission, it's still a lie." Andie takes another bite of her roll.

"She probably had a good reason."

"I don't know what it is, if she does." Andie tells Tyler. "My parents are very hush-hush about it. All I know is my mother's first husband turned out to be gay and that's why they divorced."

"It sounds like it was a hard time in your mother's life and probably hard for her to talk about." Tyler suggests.

"I still wouldn't tell such a big lie to the man I love." Andie shrugs.

"You can't say that, Andie." Tyler tells her. "You're seventeen. You don't know if you'll do something stupid one day that you won't want your future husband to know about."

Andie shrugs and bites into her roll.

"Like this." Tyler smirks. "You don't want Nicky to know we're spying on him. That's why we're wearing these ridiculous disguises. I think your dad is right."

"About what?" Andie asks.

"You're a lot more like your momma than you want to think...-"

"Ssssh! Look the band's coming on stage, now." Andie hushes Tyler

The band introduces themselves and Nicky starts out singing the first song which is " Every Breath you Take" by *The Police.* He sings:

~~ _Every Breath You take_~~~_Every Move You Make_~~~_Every Bond You Fake_~~~~

~~~_I'll Be Watching You_~~~

~~~_Oh Can't you see_~~~_You Belong To Me_~~~

~~_How My Poor Heart Aches With Every Step You Take_~~

~~_I'll Be Watching You_ ~~

~~_Every Single Day_~~

Tyler laughs. "How appropriate is it that? He starts singing with the stalker song. Ha... Ha... Ha!" Tyler laughs at the irony.

Andie has the opposite reaction. "Oh my God! Do you think he saw us in these outfits? Is that why he's singing the stalker song?" Her heart races nervously thinking that Nicky knows she's spying on him.

"He couldn't have seen us. They just got on stage. He hasn't even looked over here yet." Tyler chuckles again as he hears Nicky sing the lines "~~I'll be watching you.~~"

"Maybe he saw us walking in or he saw us in the parking lot?"

"Nicky and his band would have been too busy setting up for the night than watching people." Tyler can't help himself. He can't stop laughing every time he hears Nicky sing the verse. "~I'll be watching you~"

Andie looks around the restaurant. She tries to figure out who the girl might be that wanted to give Nicky her number. She notices a table with five college age girls that have just been seated in front of the stage. "Its probably one of them. " She points the girls out to Tyler.

"They go to UCLA. I recognize some of them from campus." Tyler tells Andie.

"Are you friends with any of them?"

"No, but they're in some of my classes," Tyler tells her.

"So they're freshman?"

"Yes, but you don't know it's them. It could be that girl." He points out a blonde college aged girl sitting with an older couple.

"I don't think the girl would come watch Nicky with her parents."

Tyler jokes "Maybe she wants her parents to meet her new boyfriend."

Andie slaps Tyler on the arm while she looks around at the people sitting at various tables.

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess walk in the red barn. Chase turns the lights on. "This place is okay." He says. "It's definitely quiet. We'll get plenty of privacy."<p>

"And we can be as loud as we want." Tess turns on some music.

Chase plugs in the electric fireplace that Danielle left there from her nights with Tyler. Chase dims the lights. "That's better." He says. "I brought a surprise for you."

"That's sweet because I brought a surprise for you too." Tess tells him.

"Who's first?" Chase asks.

"Yours first. Go ahead surprise me. I'll close my eyes."

"Put your hand out," he tells her. Chase puts a small red box in Tess' hand. "Open your eyes now."

Tess looks at the little box. She sits down on a bale of hay to open it. "Pretty." She pulls out a heart shaped necklace on a gold chain. "Read it." Chase tells her. He turns the lights up again.

"You had our names inscribed with the first day we went to the pier together."

"I count that as our first date since you kissed me that night for the first time."

"Put it on me." Tess tells him.

Chase clasps the necklace behind from behind her. "It will also remind you of tonight. Our first official night together. Last time was just practice for the real thing."

Tess smiles. "Close your eyes. It's time for my surprise." Tess pulls off her pink sweatshirt and jeans. "Okay you can open your eyes now."

Chase opens his eyes and is amazed to see Tess standing in front of him wearing a black latex body suit. He stares at her for about a minute. "You're o_n fire_." He sits down on a bale of hay and stares at her body. "I could look at you all night."

"Oh... we're going to do more than that. I brought these too." She takes something out of the bag she brought with her.

"What's that?" Chase asks.

"They're edible body paints." Tess sits on his lap, straddling him.

"I like your surprise better than mine." He tells her before they lock lips and get started.

* * *

><p>The band announces they're taking a five minute break. Andie watches Nicky climb off the stage and walk over to the group of college students. "Look. He's talking to them. Which one do you think it is? '<p>

"No idea." Tyler sips his soda out of the straw and watches.

"Look at them. They're all flirting with him." Andie scowls.

"How can you tell? You can't hear what they're saying." Tyler eats his shrimp.

"They're all smiling at him and playing with their hair."

"They're not all playing with their hair, just those two. And what do you expect? Of course they're smiling, the lead singer of the band came down to talk to their table, of course they're going to be smiling."

Andie folds her arms and grumps. Nicky gets back on stage. This time he plays the guitar and a female member of the band takes the microphone to sing.

"Do you want to leave now?" Tyler asks.

"No."

"You don't look like your having a good time and Nicky's done singing for the night."

"He's still up there playing guitar. I want to watch until the band is done."

"Why are you doing this to yourself Andie? This is like torture."

* * *

><p>Chase helps Tess slip out of the latex body suit. She pulls off his shirt and then works on his pants. He picks up the fine paint brush. "Mmm.." He taste's the red paint. Taste like cherry." He begins to paint swirly lines going from her neck to her breasts. She paints a design on his body with blue and green paint. When she's satisfied with her work she says "taste testing time." She goes first licking the paint off down his body. He moans and groans while running his fingers through her sunny blonde hair. He flips her over and begins licking the tasty body paints off of her. He's surprised at first at how loud he can get her to moan while working on her breasts. The last time they had to be quiet because they were in his bedroom. This is so much better. He positions himself in between her legs. She wraps her legs around his hips so that they're grabbing onto his back. He enters her. They smoothly rock back and forth working up a rhythm They move faster and faster until she's screaming. She looks in his eyes while she climaxes and then he sprays into her. He falls on top of her all sweaty and she rubs his back. "That was awesome." She tells him.<p>

"I'm so glad my sister told us about this place." He kisses her forehead while holding her.

"Let's make this our spot and come here every Friday night." Tess tells Chase.

"Just Fridays?" He asks. "You mean we're only going to have sex on Fridays."

"No. We can come here whenever I guess since your sister said nobody else uses it."

Chase smiles. "Lets come back tomorrow night."

"Okay. What time is it?" Tess asks.

Chase gets up to find his jeans to pull out his phone. He also pulls a condom out of his pocket with the phone. "It's eleven." He tells her.

She gets up "I better get going I have to be home by midnight." She wipes the sticky drippy stuff off her legs with his shirt.

"Hey what are you doing?" That's my shirt.

"There's no bathroom here to clean up."

"But I have to wear that home." Chase protests. "Remind me to bring a towel next time."

"Why did you bring that condom?" She screws up her face. "You know I'm on the pill."

"My mom was saying we should use one anyway."

"We were virgins together. We don't have any diseases. I think the condom would cover up the intensity of it." Tess tells Chase.

"That's why I left it in my pocket." He grins.

Tess finishes dressing and puts her shoes on. "You ready?" She asks.

"I wish we didn't have to leave. I wish we could stay in this barn together all night."

"We can't. I have to be home by midnight. My parents are waiting up for me." Tess explains.

"Too bad you didn't have any girlfriends so you could tell them your spending the night with them."

"Yeah, it sucks." Tess answers.

"We have to find you a friend." Chase kisses her one more time before they leave the barn.

* * *

><p>The band finishes playing. They exit the stage. Andie and Tyler walk out to the car. Tyler takes off his cap and starts up the car.<p>

"Wait! We can't leave yet." Andie tells Tyler.

"Why not?"

"I want to watch Nicky walk out. That's his car over there" Andie points to the small sports car.

"We watched him up on stage all night. Why do we have to watch him walk to his car?" Tyler groans.

"I want to see if he leaves with anyone. Pull over there so we're closer. Nicky doesn't know your car so we'll be okay." Andie instructs Tyler.

"It might take the band a while to pack up their stuff. We could be here at least an hour." Tyler complains.

"No, Nicky just has his guitar. His buddy with the truck brings all the other stuff."

"Fine." Tyler grumbles. "But don't ask me to do it again."

"I bought you dinner and this place isn't cheap." Andie reminds Tyler.

"Thank you for dinner." Tyler concedes.

"You went and ordered the surf and turf, the most expensive thing on the menu." Andie tells him. "Lobster with Filet Mignon."

"Well you didn't order anything so that made up for it."

"That's cuz Danielle and I always split the meal when we go out to eat." Andie tells Tyler

"Do I look like Danielle?" Tyler jokes.

"A little around the chest area." Andie teases.

"Hey! Didn't your momma teach you not to bite the hand that feeds you? I took you here to spy on Nicky and you're going to say I have a girl's chest?"

"I meant it against Danielle, not you. Danielle's flat chested." Andie tells him.

Tyler answers. "I've seen Danielle without a bra she's not that flat." Tyler tells Andie. "You on the other hand are ample in that area like your momma."

"How would you know? You've never seen me or momma without a shirt."

"It's obvious Andie. You have luscious boobs. I can tell just by looking at you with your shirt on."

"Well, stop looking. We're just friends." Andie tells him.

"We used to date."

"We're not dating anymore. We're friends, so don't go and get any ideas about us."

"Are you kidding? I would never date you. You're obsessed with Nicky."

"I'm not obsessed with Nicky."

"Then why are we sitting here in the parking lot waiting to watch him walk out to his car?"

"Get down! Here he comes!" Andie warns Tyler and they slink down in their seats. Andie peeks through the side window. "Oh my God! He's walking with a girl to that red car over there."

Tyler lifts his head to peek now too. "That girl's in my philosophy 101 class."

"What's her name?"

"I think it's Allison."

"Is she nice?" Andie asks.

"I guess. I never really talked to her. She sits on the other side of the room."

"They have their phones out. It looks like they're exchanging numbers." Andie tells Tyler.

"I guess so."

"Crap!" Andie says. "This turned out to be a really shitty night."

"At least he didn't kiss her." Tyler tells Andie.

"Duck your head back down. Nicky's walking this way. He has to pass us to get to his car." Andie warns Tyler. "Just stay quiet, Tyler."

"You're the one who's talking."

"Shhh!" Andie hushes Tyler. They wait as Nicky walks past them. He's whistling to himself. After Nicky has gone by Tyler laughs. "The dude was whistling *The sun will come out tomorrow* from Annie. Ha Ha Ha," Tyler laughs.

"Shut up, Tyler." Andie pouts. "Stay down until Nicky pulls away." After Nicky's car pulls out of the parking lot Andie and Tyler sit back up in their seats. "I want you to keep an eye on that girl Allison in your philosophy class."

"I'm not stalking her for you, Andie. I don't mind sitting here with you spying on Nicky but I draw the line on stalking his new girlfriend."

"She's not his girlfriend!" Andie shoots. "He just met her, maybe they'll hate each other after the first date."

"It's possible" Tyler tells Andie. "Or maybe they'll fall in love."

"Shut up, Tyler!" Andie slaps his arm.

"I was just kidding. You have it really bad for Nicky. Why don't you just say screw what everyone else thinks and get back together with him?"

"Because it'll break my daddy's heart." Andie tells Tyler.

"Your dad will get over it. He's with your mom; the woman he loves. Why shouldn't you get to be with the dude you love?"

"Because if I do that and my dad has another heart attack I couldn't live with it. My whole family will blame me."

"Talk to your dad, he's a reasonable guy. Tell him what you told me."

"Not yet. He's just getting better."

"But you will talk to him about it one day?"

"I guess."

"Then tell Nicky to wait for you."

Andie looks at Tyler and smiles.

"What?" Tyler asks.

"I'm lucky having a good friend like you." Andie tells him.

"I try." Tyler says. "But I'm no Danielle."

Andie laughs. "Danielle's at a party tonight."

"Whose party?"

"Some senior friend of hers who also got accepted into Yale." Andie tells him.

"You know it's all new and exciting for Danielle. She's still your best friend."

"It doesn't feel like it. I feel like she's leaving me out of a big part of her life."

"Danielle felt the same way when you were dating Nicky. I think that's why she was hanging out with me so much. Lucas was at Yale and you were always with Nicky."

"I guess it's my turn to be the one left out." Andie sighs.

"What goes around comes around." Tyler shrugs.

"That doesn't make me feel better." Andie tells him.

"How do you think I feel always being everyone's second choice. That doesn't make me feel great."

"Tyler you're an awesome guy. One day you'll find an awesome girl who loves only you."

Tyler takes a deep breath and sighs. "I hope so."

"In the mean time, I'm lucky to have you as a friend."

"Thanks. I'm lucky to have you too."

"So, you wanna do this with me again next Friday night? My treat again. Nicky's band plays at Giorgio's every Friday night for the season." Andie tells him in an excited tone.

Tyler rolls his eyes and and drives Andie home.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review<strong>_


	42. Chapter 42

**_Chapter 42_**

* * *

><p>It's Wednesday, Charlotte comes home from work, "I'm exhausted."<p>

"Good." Cooper tells her because, "I made salmon for dinner. All you have to do is sit down and eat."

"I'll be right in, I just need to wash my hands and change into something comfortable."

Cooper calls the kids for dinner.

"Hey dad?" Chase asks. "Can Tess stay for dinner?"

"The more the merrier. Have a seat Tess." Cooper pulls out the chair for her. "I hope you like grilled salmon."

"I love salmon, Dr. Freedman." Tess sits next to Chase.

Noah sits on the other side of Chase and Drew hops into the chair next to Noah. "I hate fish. I'm not eating that." Five year old Drew tells Cooper while scowling at his dinner plate.

Cooper tells him, "You have to at least try it before you say you hate it."

"No! I'm not eating it."

Cooper maintains his patience with the five year old. "I want you to try it first and then we'll discuss it."

Charlotte comes for dinner wearing her sweats. "Where's Andie?"

Cooper shouts out "Andie! Dinner's Ready!"

Andie breezes into the kitchen. "I'm going out to dinner with Tyler tonight."

"You and Tyler?" Cooper raises his eyebrows.

"We're just friends, daddy."

Charlotte picks up her fork and tells Andie. "You and Tyler were adorable dancing at Cole and Jolie's wedding when you were four. You looked like a little bride in your white flower girl dress and Tyler was wearing a little tuxedo."

"Stop dreamin' about me marrying Tyler, momma. It ain't happening. We're just friends."

Noah chimes in, "Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say."

Andie defends. "It's true, we're only friends." Andie turns to Cooper "I need some money." She holds her hand out.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte looks at her. "Is that the proper way to ask for something?"

Andie tries again." I meant to say, may I please have some money to go out to dinner, daddy?"

"How much do you need?" Cooper pulls his wallet out of his pocket.

"Fifty would be good but if you give me extra I could buy Tyler dessert."

Charlotte asks, "if you and Tyler are just friends why are you paying for him?"

"Cuz, he's doing me a favor."

Charlotte asks, "what kind of favor?"

"I'm seventeen, momma. Do I need to tell you every detail of my life?"

"When you're asking for cash from your father and I, yes, you do."

Andie rebuffs, "Daddy's the one giving me the money and he's not asking any questions."

"Don't you get sassy with me. I ask you questions because I care." Charlotte firmly tells her daughter.

"Daddy trusts me. That's why he doesn't aks questions." Andie takes the money from Cooper and waves as she leaves the kitchen. "Later gators."

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "I told you before they were born that they would like you better than me."

Drew shouts out. "I like _you_ better, momma!"

Cooper fakes a frown. "Hey? You just hurt my feelings, Squirt."

"That's cuz you're making me eat this fish." Drew scowls at his dinner plate.

"I'm making you eat it because it's good for you." Cooper explains.

Drew back talks. "Andie doesn't have to eat the fish. You let Andie go out to eat and you even gave her money."

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "Out of the mouths of babes. He's got a point, Cooper."

Cooper tells them. "Andie's seventeen, Drew's five."

Noah interrupts. "If it's any consultation, I like you both the same."

"Ditto." Chase holds his hand up in the air. Chase whispers to Tess. "Come out in the hall with me." They both get up.

"Where are you two going?" Cooper asks Chase and Tess.

"Tess has to go home now. Her momma wants her home by six today." Chase lies.

"Bye Tess." Charlotte and Cooper say at the same time.

"Thank you for the dinner" Tess waves."

"Hey, that's not fair." Drew complains. "Tess and Chase didn't finish their fish."

"Tess isn't our child and Chase is coming back to finish. He's just walking Tess out." Charlotte tells Drew.

"Try your salmon, Drew." Cooper tells him again. "If you don't like it you don't have to finish it. Just try it."

Drew puts a tiny piece of the salmon in his mouth and immediately spits it back on his plate. "I tried it. I don't like it."

Charlotte rolls her eyes.

In the hall Chase tells Tess, "This is a good time to go up in my room and hide while they're all in the kitchen eating."

Tess quietly tip toes up the steps so nobody hears her.

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler are back at Giorgio's Restaurant to spy on Nicky. Andie found out his band was playing on Wednesday nights now too. Andie's wearing her sunglasses and floppy hat again. Tyler has on his cap with attached hair. They watch Nicky take the stage with his band. He sings the song. "It's my life" by Bon Jovi:<p>

_~~~~~~"Let's sing a song for the broken hearted~~~~~~_

_~~~It's my life~~It's now or never_~~~~I'm... not gonna live forever~~~

~~~_It's my life_ _~~My heart is an open highway~~~..."_

"Why do you think Nicky's singing this song?" Andie asks Tyler while they share a plate of Shrimp Scampi.

"I don't know." Tyler spoons the shrimp into his mouth making sure he gets more off the plate than Andie.

"Do you think he's singing about moving on without me?"

"Not everything is about you, Andie. Maybe his band likes this song because Nicky can rock it out when he sings it, or maybe someone requested it." Tyler spoons more of the Shrimp Scampi in his mouth as if he's racing to finish it before Andie gets any.

"I guess." Andie sighs. "Look! That girl Allison from your philosophy class is sitting at the table over there."

Tyler turns his head to look. "She looks hot tonight."

"Don't say that."

"Well, she does. I'm not used to seeing her dressed like that in philosophy class." Tyler finishes the plate of shrimp.

"Do you think Nicky's banging her?" Andie asks.

"If he's not, I'm sure he wants to."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Andie sighs.

"You better tell Nicky you still want him before he gets in too deep with Allison."

"But my dad?" Andie worries.

"Talk to your dad." Tyler advices. "He seems like a reasonable guy."

Andie sighs deep.

* * *

><p>Chase tosses an over sized t shirt to Tess. "You can sleep in this tonight."<p>

"Thanks for letting me sleep over. There's no way I'm going home tonight."

"Hopefully by tomorrow, your momma will have cooled down." Chase watches Tess change into the t shirt.

"I don't think so, she was breathing fire. I might need to stay here a week."

"I'd love you to stay a week. I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll be right back."

"Too bad I couldn't take a shower with you." Tess pouts.

"It's too risky. Someone might see you in the hall." Chase leaves to take a shower in the bathroom down the hall.

"Drew! It's time to go to bed!" Cooper shouts out for his five year old son.

"I don't want to go to bed yet!" Drew trots up the stairs to talk to Cooper.

"It's not multiple choice, Squirt. Brush your teeth and meet me in your bedroom in five minutes. We're reading Green Eggs and Ham tonight." Cooper pats Drew on the head.

"Can I do my monster check first?"

"You have five minutes to do your monster check and brush your teeth." Cooper tells him.

Drew runs in Andie's room first and looks under the bed. "All clear," he shouts.

He runs into Noah's room next. Noah's on his laptop skyping with Marley. "What's Drew doing?" Marley asks.

"His nightly monster checks. He looks under all of our beds to make sure no monsters are hiding." Noah explains to Marley.

"What about the closets? Doesn't he check those too?" Marley asks through the laptop screen.

"Don't give him any ideas." Noah rolls his eyes.

"It's all clear." Drew tells Noah before running out of his room. Drew gets to Chase's room. The door's closed. He hears someone inside so he knocks. "Chase? Can I come in?" There's no answer. "I know you're in there. I can hear you." He still gets no answer. "I'm coming in."

Tess ducks down behind the bed to hide. Drew opens the door and walks in the room. Tess tries to scurry under the bed. Drew hears her. "Monster! Monster!" Drew shouts out as loud as he can. He runs out of Chase's room into the hallway. "There's a monster under Chase's bed."

Cooper and Noah come running.

"There's no such thing as monsters." Noah tells his little brother.

"Yes there is! I heard one under Chase's bed." Drew answers.

Noah goes into Chase's room and looks under the bed. "It's a Tess monster." He jokes. Tess comes out from under the bed to show Drew she's not really a monster. She's wearing an oversized t-shirt that covers her thighs. Cooper looks at her. "Come on boys, let's go." Cooper escorts Noah and Drew to their rooms and calls out, "Charlotte! Char! I need you upstairs now!

Charlotte rushes up the steps. "What's wrong?"

"Tess is hiding out in Chase's room wearing one of his t-shirts and that's all she's wearing."

"Oh?" Charlotte makes her way to Chase's room. Charlotte opens the door and walks in. She sits on the bed next to Tess. "So, where's Chase?" Charlotte asks.

Tess's face turns red with embarrassment. "He's in the shower."

"Why are you in his room wearing a t-shirt?"

"I ran away. Chase said I could stay with him. He gave me this t-shirt to sleep in."

"Why would you run away?"

"My momma was snooping in my purse and found my birth control pills."

"Didn't you talk to your momma about going on the pill?"

"No. My momma isn't cool like you. She doesn't want me to have sex yet."

Charlotte takes a deep breath. "Understand this, Tess. I don't _want_ you and Chase to have sex. Sixteen is too young for a serious relationship, but you were already having sex when I found out. I don't think there's anything I could say to make you stop is there?"

"No ma'am."

"Get dressed. I'm going to take you home to your momma now."

"Please, don't take me home." Tess pleads. "You don't know my momma."

"It's about time I meet her."

"Huh?"

"Do you want me to talk to your momma with you?"

Tess nods. "Yes."

Chase sails in the bedroom, his hair's wet and he's wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Charlotte looks up at her sixteen year old son who's a replica of Cooper.

Chase looks at his momma. "Uh…oh."

Charlotte raises her eyebrows, "Uh...oh is right."

"Sorry, momma."

Charlotte looks at Tess. "Get dressed. I'll drive you home." Charlotte looks at Chase. "You and I are going to have a talk when I get back."

"Yes, momma." Chase pulls his clothes off the bed and heads back to the bathroom to get dressed wondering how much trouble he's in.


	43. Chapter 43

**_Chapter 43_**

* * *

><p>Charlotte rings the bell of the Spanish style house with Tess standing behind her. A forty-something year old woman answers and looks over Charlotte's shoulder at Tess. The woman speaks with a southern accent. "Where have you been Tess? Your brother said y'all never came home from school today."<p>

"I was at Chase's house, momma." Tess says from behind Charlotte.

"I figured as much. I told y'all I didn't want you to go near that boy, Chase, ever again." Her momma scolds her.

Charlotte holds out her hand to shake. "I'm Chase's mother, Dr. Charlotte King."

The woman shakes Charlotte's hand. "I'm Cyndi Powers. Please come in."

Charlotte and Tess walk in the house. Cyndi tells Tess. "Go to your room darlin'. I'll deal with you later. Right now I want to speak with Chase's momma." Tess heads up to her room and Cyndi leads Charlotte to the couch. Charlotte takes a seat on the couch while Cyndi sits in a chair across from her.

"Can I offer you something to drink, Dr. King?"

"No, thank you and please call me Charlotte."

"Okay, Charlotte. I have a feeling you know more about what's going on with Tess than I do."

Charlotte nods. "I know some."

Cyndi clears her throat before speaking. "I found birth control pills in my daughter's purse this mornin'. We argued about it. That's why she was afraid to come home from school and face the consequences. I'm guessing she was with your boy?

"Yes she was." Charlotte takes a breath before saying. "I know about the birth control pills. I'm the one who gave them to Tess."

Cyndi's mouth drops, "Why would you do that? She's only sixteen. That's giving them permission to have sex."

"They were already havin' sex. That's why I gave her the pill. Tess was afraid she might be pregnant." Charlotte explains.

"Was she pregnant?" Cyndi is horrified at the thought.

"No, she was just a day late but the poor thing was scared to death thinking she was pregnant so I gave her the pill."

"Wouldn't it have been better to tell them to stop having sex instead of giving her the pill? That's like saying, here you go, you're free to do it whenever you want to now. They shouldn't be having sex at sixteen."

"I could have told them to stop having sex but I don't believe that would be a realistic expectation once they have already crossed that line. At what point would you expect them to stop once they've already gone all the way?" Charlotte asks.

"I s'pose that's easy for you to say. You have a boy. It's different for a boy. I have a girl and she'll only earn herself a reputation as a whore."

"I have a seventeen year old daughter. I know what you're feeling." Charlotte tells her.

"Did you put your daughter on the pill too?" Cyndi asks cynically.

"I didn't but a doctor friend of mine did for the same reason."

"It shouldn't surprise me that having a sexologist for a mother both your kids would start early but our family is not that way." Cyndi shoots.

Charlotte clenches her jaw and grinds her teeth for a minute in silence. She tries counting to ten in her head, after she counts to seven she responds looking at Cyndi. "I'ma gonna let that go." Charlotte takes a breath and continues. "Being a southern girl myself I was raised the same way as you. Big daddy would've been happy if I waited til marraige."

"Big daddy?" Cyndi eases up and smiles.

"Yes." Charlotte nods. "We called my father big daddy."

"Looks like moving out to LA has changed you quite a bit." Cyndi points out.

"It has." Charlotte agrees. "I like to think for the better."

"I'm sorry." Cyndi tells her "But I don't understand what's the rush. I'm not saying that Tess has to save herself 'til marraige like our parents expected of us but but sixteen is far too young to be having sexual relations."

"Believe it or not I agree with you." Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

"Then why are you condoning it by giving them the pill?" Cyndi holds out her hands in question.

"They're gonna do it anyway." Charlotte looks Cyndi in the eyes and explains in a soft voice. "I know they are. I saw them in action myself. It's new and exciting and fun to them. We're not going to be able to stop them now."

Cyndi sighs in defeat and looks up at the ceiling.

Charlotte moves next to her and takes Cyndi's hand. "All I'm tryin' to do is keep the lines of communication open. I told the kids not to be afraid to come to me with any problem and that I won't judge them. I would prefer to know that they're having sex and put them on the pill than to have them sneakin' around behind my back and end up pregnant or with an STD."

Cyndi nods her head. "I guess I shouldn't argue with that."

"Okay then." Charlotte gets up to leave "It was nice to have finally met you."

Cyndi shows her to the door. "You too. Chase really is a lovely young man and very well mannered. You don't see that a lot in these parts."

"Thank you." Charlotte smiles. "I try to instill some southern manners into them."

"I'm from Atlanta." Cyndi tells her.

"How do you like LA?" Charlotte asks.

"We've only been here six months but I like it fine. Tess is having a hard time with the transition though." Cyndi tells Charlotte.

"Why?" Charlotte ask.

"The kids at the high school all have their cliques. Tess is having a hard time fitting into any of them. Chase was the only one to reach out to her. He's her only friend and that's why I was upset to find out they were having sex. I thought that's why Chase wanted to be her friend, because he wanted to have sex with her."

"Oh no." Charlotte tells Cyndi. "Chase adores Tess and I'd like to believe I didn't raise him to use anyone. Speakin' as his mother, I can guarantee you Chase's is not using your daughter for sex."

"Tess tells me Chase wants to study Veterinary Medicine?"

"We're hoping he changes his mind to human medicine by the time he gets to college." Charlotte smiles, "I blame my husband. He's always made sure the kids had a dog in the house since they were babies. Chase's grown attached to the canines."

"I was asking because the owner of The Petz Clinic is a client of my husband's. They're looking for a vet tech. We could put in a good word for Chase if you like." Cyndi tells her.

"Chase would love that." Charlotte smiles as she walks out the door.

"Thank you." Cyndi tells Charlotte and waves goodbye.

* * *

><p>Andie comes in the door still wearing her floppy hat and Charlotte's business suit. She runs up the steps and straight to her room. She downloads "I'll be Watching You" by The Police and blasts it before she lays down on her bed crying.<p>

Cooper knocks on her door. "Go away!" She yells over the music.

Cooper opens the door and pokes his head in. "Your have to lower that. You're little brother is sleeping and if he wakes up, you have to get him back to sleep." Cooper notices her crying along with the floppy hat and outfit.

Andie gets up to lower the speaker on her laptop.

"Why are you crying? What's with the floppy hat? And why are you wearing your mother's work clothes?" Cooper asks.

"Can I talk to you about something very important daddy?"

"Yes." Cooper sits down on her bed.

"If I tell you this you have to promise me you won't get upset and you won't have another heart attack."

"I cross my heart and hope to...never mind... I promise I will keep calm about whatever it is."

"Okay. It's not going to be easy to tell you this."

"You're not pregnant are you? I mean not that I don't love babies...I had four of my own...well your mother did all the work...and that's why you should try to be nicer to her...your momma loves you...-" Cooper babbles.

Andie interrupts him. "I'm not pregnant, daddy. I know momma loves me and I love her. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"Tell me what's troubling you, pumpkin." Cooper pats her knee.

"Do you want to know why I'm wearing this outfit and what the favor is Tyler was doing for me?"

"Yes, it would be nice to know."

Andie takes a deep breath and begins, "Tyler's been coming with me to Giorgio's restaurant."

Cooper nods. "I know Giorgio's. It's a nice place. Leslie says that Nicky's band plays there."

"I pay for Tyler's dinner so he'll come with me to Giorgio's to spy on Nicky."

Cooper asks, "why do you want to spy on Nicky?"

"Because I'm in love with him."

Cooper raises his eyebrows "You're in love with Nicky?"

Andie nods "Yes."

"That could be a problem considering he's your cousin."

"But daddy, why does it have to be a problem?"

Cooper looks at her sympathetically.

"Daddy, Nicky and I fell in love before we knew that we were related. We didn't grow up as cousins. We didn't share the same grandparents. I don't even know your biological mother, Susan, and neither do you."

Cooper nods. "This is true."

"I can't help it, daddy. I love Nicky. I tried to stop loving him. I broke up with him but it's hard." Andie starts to cry. "That's why I've been spying on him, now he's seeing this girl named Allison."

Cooper hugs her. "It's okay pumpkin. It's okay with me if you want to date Nicky."

Andie's surprised."It is?"

"You're only seventeen. I'm sure you'll meet other boys when you go to college but if you want to see Nicky until then I'm okay with it, if it'll make you happy and dry up these tears." Cooper wipes a tear away from her eye.

"What if I don't meet other boys at college cuz I'm still in love with Nicky? Andie asks "What if I want to marry Nicky?"

Cooper sighs "Well, if you ever plan on having children it could pose a problem."

Andie answers."I looked into it already and we could go for genetic testing first. If we both carry a gene for some bad disease then we can always adopt. Both you and Nicky's mom are adopted."

Cooper nods. "You got me there, kid."

"Thank you for understanding, daddy." Andie hugs Cooper. "I broke up with Nicky for you. I don't care what anyone else thinks about me and Nicky dating. I just didn't want to give you another heart attack."

Cooper pats Andie on the back. "Don't worry so much about me, pumpkin. I'm not made of glass."

"So, you're okay with it, then?" Andie just wants to make sure. She didn't expect it to be this easy to convince Cooper.

"I'm going to be honest. I'm not crazy about the idea but I understand it."

"Why aren't you crazy about the idea?" Andie asks. "I already expalined Nicky and I fell in love before we knew we were cousins."

Cooper answers. "I get that part. I mean if someone came along and told me your mother and I were cousins after I already fell in love with her I wouldn't be able to let go either."

"Then what's the problem, daddy?"

"The problem is not everybody is going to be as understanding as me." Cooper gives her a little smile. 'I'm an understanding guy but a lot of people aren't."

"I don't care what people think, daddy. I just want to be with Nicky."

"It's easy to say that now, pumpkin, but having to deal with the comments and the looks...I just don't want to see you hurt."

"We won't tell everyone. It's not like we have to wear a sign that says we're cousins. Nicky and I don't even look alike."

"People already know about it, Andie. People talk."

"I've got tough skin, daddy. I can handle it." Andie tries to reassure Cooper.

Cooper pats Andie on the knee. "And if anyone gives you a hard time about it send them to me and I'll take care of them for you."

Andie laughs. "Daddy, you're the best."

Cooper looks Andie in the eye. "Now can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Anything you want, daddy"

"I want you to take it easy on your mother. She loves you and your brothers more than anything in this world...-"

Andie interrupts. "Yeah, well Chase has always been momma's favorite. He's her Sweet Fella, her goody, goody boy who can do no wrong."

"Not after tonight." Cooper thinks to himself out loud.

"Why? What happened tonight?" Andie's curious.

Cooper responds. "Never mind. Your momma and I don't have any favorites. So, do me a favor and give your momma a break."

"Okay, daddy." Andie smiles. Cooper smiles back. He can't resist seeing his Andy Candie smile.

* * *

><p>Charlotte comes home from Tess's house and knocks before entering Chase's room.<p>

Chase looks up from his iPad. "Here we go."

Charlotte sits on his bed. "Chase you know better that that. I taught you better than that, at least I thought so."

"What else was I supposed to do momma? Tess had no wear else to stay.

"Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes! I know exactly what you had in mind!"

"What?"

"She was wearing a t-shirt. You mean to tell me you weren't planning on having sex with her while your father and I were down the hall sleeping?"

Chase appears shaken. "I don't know. I guess maybe we would have tried but the main reason she was here is because she ran away from her momma."

"Because her momma found the pill in her purse."

"Yes." Chase answers. "And her momma isn't as understadnding about it as you."

Charlotte glares at Chase telling him firmly. "The only reason I gave Tess the pill is because she already thought she was pregnant. I DO NOT condone teenagers having sex and certainly not under my roof with me in the house."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

Charlotte sighs. "How am I supposed to trust you after this Chase?"

"You can trust me, momma. I promise."

"Don't ever let me catch you do anything like this again." Charlotte warns Chase before she leaves.

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks into the bedroom. Cooper's already in bed. "How did it turn out with Tess' mother?"<p>

Charlotte changes into her pj's. "It took a little talkin' to get her to calm down but I think she's okay now. They want to get Chase a job as a vet tech at the Veteranaian's office down by the hospital."

"I bet Chase is excited."

"I didn't tell him yet." Charlotte sits on the bed. "It didn't seem appropriate while I was lecturing him about hiding Tess in his room."

Cooper nods. "I think not."

Charlotte talks to him while walking in the master bathroom to wash her face for the night. "You know you could have spoke with him instead of waiting for me to come home. You _are_ his father."

"I could have if I wasn't having a heart to heart with Andie tonight."

"With Andie?" Charlotte asks while squeezing toothpaste on her brush. "About what?"

"Do you want to know what she was really doing tonight with Tyler?"

Charlotte turns her head to look at him with a mouth full of tooth paste. "What?"

"They were spying on Nicky's band playing at Girgio's. She wore a disguise so Nicky couldn't recognize her."

Charlotte spits into the sink. "You're kidding?"

"Nope. She has it bad for Nicky."

"But she can't, she knows he's her cousin now." Charlotte rinses her mouth.

"Come here, Chief." Cooper pats a spot on the bed. Charlotte sits next to him.

"Think back to years ago, when we first fell in love. I mean really in love when we couldn't live without each other, no matter what."

Charlotte sits and remembers back to those times. She rolls her eyes at the thought of Cooper moving in with Violet and how hurt she was. She remembers she ended up staying there too because she couldn't stand to be away from Cooper even for one night. "I remember those days well."

Cooper pats Charlotte on her knee. "I'm adopted. I don't know anything about my bio relatives, well, I didn't back then. What if I found out we were cousins? Would you be able to turn off your feelings and leave me?"

Charlotte sighs. "No."

Cooper asks her. "Would you care about what other people thought of us."

"Hell no!"

"Well, Andie does, so she's been fighting it."

"Andie cares what people think? That surprises me. I thought she had more self esteem." Charlotte feels a little disappointed.

"Well, not everybody, mainly me. She was worried it would stress me out and I might have another heart attack if she went out with Nicky."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her I wasn't crazy about it, but that I understood it."

Charlotte asks. "So, you're okay with it."

Cooper shrugs. "I'm not okay knowing that they're going to face a lot of opposition from people."

Charlotte interrupts. "Andie's tough."

"She's human, Charlotte, people can be cruel."

"So, what should we do?"

"The only thing we can do is wait." Cooper rubs Charlotte's back. "She's young. Nicky's her first love. I don't expect it to last past her high school graduation. She'll go to college and date other boys. She'll be okay."

Charlotte lies her head back on the pillow. "So, we're going to ride it out?"

Cooper nods. "I think it's the only thing we can do."

Charlotte takes a deep breath and sighs.

Cooper looks up at the ceiling. "You're a great momma, Charlotte, the kids are lucky."

"Why don't I feel so great right now?"

"Because a good mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child. Let's ride it out and let Andie be happy."

Charlotte furrows her brow looking at him. "Where do you come up with these things?"

"The saying?"

Charlotte nods.

"It's not mine. I'm a pediatrician. I've heard it a million times but I believe it's true."

Charlotte nods. "So do I." Charlotte lies her head on Cooper's chest. "So do I."

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	44. Chapter 44

_**Chapter 44**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte's in her office, Cole knocks and enters. "You look crazy hot this morning."<p>

Charlotte looks up from her computer. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were flirting with me."

Cole smirks. "If I was, would it work?"

Charlotte flips her hair back with her hand. "It would if I wasn't already married to a crazy hot guy." She smiles.

"Really? If you weren't married,I would have a chance?"

Charlotte looks at Cole and twirls her pen between her fingers. "Course. Why not? You're a nice guy, a good father."

Cole clears his throat. "That's what I came to talk to you about, the good father part."

"You mean you didn't really come to flirt with me?"

Cole sits down in the chair by Charlotte's desk. "I came to ask you to testify on my behalf in family court."

"Is Jolie trying to get full custody of the twins?"

"This has nothing to do with Jolie for once. Amelia won't let me see Dylan anymore. I'm taking her to court for partial custody."

"Why won't Amelia let you see Dylan?"

"She claims I'm negligent and irresponsible."

Charlotte raises her voice. "That's not true. You're great with all of your kids. I've seen you in action."

"That's why I need you to testify."

"Why is Amelia doing this now?"

Cole explains, "Because I took Dylan to the Pier the day after he had chemo. He developed a fever after. He's fine now, but she freaked."

"How does Dylan feel about it?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know. She won't let me talk to him. She keeps him isolated in her house like he's in bubble."

"Can she do this?"Charlotte asks. "Does she have the right to shut you out?

Cole explains. "When Dylan was a baby Amelia and I agreed to share custody. I was already married to Jolie then and we worked out a schedule. We never went to court and filed custody papers. I have no paper work. I have no choice but to take Amelia to court for partial custody if I want to see my son."

Charlotte nods. "I'll testify for you."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>Andie puts on a short clingy red dress with matching red heels. She wears her hair long and loose before stalking over to Nicky's front door. She rings the bell, Nicky answers. Andie smiles at him while he checks out her red dress. "I'm ready to take you back." Andie smiles.<p>

Nicky looks at her and takes a deep breath. "You had your chance weeks ago but passed on it. I'm seeing someone else now like I told you I would."

'"Nicky?" Andie wasn't expecting this.

"You walked away, Andie. I'm not going to dump her because you changed your mind."

"I didn't walk away, Nicky. I've been watching you. I know all about Allison."

"You've been watching me?"

"Yes." Andie explains. "I was watching you because I wanted to know what was going on in your life. I needed to be near you. I talked to my dad and he gave me his blessing."

"You should have asked your dad for his blessing weeks ago, Andie. I'm not going to hurt Allison because it's convenient for you to get back with me now."

"Do you still love me, Nicky?"

Nicky doesn't answer. "Goodbye, Andie." He shuts the door.

* * *

><p>Amelia knocks on Charlotte's office door. She enters before waiting for an answer.<p>

Charlotte looks up. "Amelia?"

"I need a favor."

"What?" Charlotte asks.

"Cole's taking me to court for partial custody of Dylan. You're Chief of Staff, you've know both of us a long time, so I want you to testify for me."

Charlotte takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Cole already asked me to testify on his behalf."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him yes."

Amelia turns on her heels and storms out of Charlotte's office letting the door slam behind her. Charlotte shakes her head and sighs.

* * *

><p>Andie cuts out of class and meets Tyler on the campus of UCLA after his philosophy class. "Thanks for telling me which building your class is in. Now where's Allison?"<p>

"She stopped to talk to the professor." Tyler tells Andie. "She should be out of class any minute." Tyler and Andie wait about five more minutes for Allison to come out. "There she is." Tyler points her out.

It doesn't take Andie long. "Excuse me, Allison." Andie calls out. The blonde turns around.

"Are you calling me?" The girl asks.

"Yes. I'm Andie Freedman. I'm Nicky Poulos' girlfriend."

"Nicky told me about you. He said you broke up with him."

"Well not anymore. We're back together."

"Then why didn't Nicky tell me that?"

"Uh…Uh…" Andie wasn't expecting that question. "Look, I was going to take it easy on you, but you're not making this easy so I'll give it to you straight. Nicky loves me. He's was just using you to pass the time when I broke up with him."

Allison looks down at Andie. "Go back to high school little girl. College is for adults."

"You're only one or two years older than I am." Andie argues.

Allison looks at Tyler. "This is why little high school kids shouldn't get into sexual relationships. They can't let go when it's over. They're too immature."

"Do not talk about me like that!" Andie's clearly insulted by Allison's condescending attitude.

"Look kid, if Nicky wanted to break it off with me, he would do it himself, he wouldn't send you. As a matter of fact why don't we call him right now and see what he has to say." Allison pulls out her phone.

Andie pulls Tyler and walks away. She looks over her shoulder and yells "bitch," to Allison. Tyler rolls his eyes and walks with her.

* * *

><p>Charlotte takes a shower and puts her pj's on before joining Cooper in bed. "How was your day?" He asks.<p>

"Work was fine but I'm caught in the middle of the crossfire between Cole and Amelia."

"Why?"

"Remember when Cole took Dylan to the pier after a round of chemo."

"Yeah, I didn't think it was a smart idea." Cooper puts his kindle down.

"Well, Amelia agrees with you. She hasn't let Cole see Dylan since."

"I can't blame her. Cole put Dylan's life in danger. Public places like the pier are swarming with germs. Dylan's counts were bound to drop from the chemo."

"Cole said his counts were normal when Dylan was discharged. He wanted to show the kid a good time. Amelia keeps Dylan locked up like the boy in the plastic bubble."

"Because she wants her son to _LIVE_, Charlotte!" Cooper emphasizes the word live.

"I would agree with you if Cole took Dylan when his counts were low, but they weren't." Charlotte argues.

Cooper raises his voice getting excited. "Charlotte you know blood counts normally drop after chemo! Dylan came down a fever a few days later!"

Charlotte argues "Which Dylan's body was easily able to fight off because his count were normal!"

Cooper jumps up out of bed, wobbling a little on his leg. "Cole got _LUCKY_, very lucky, that Dylan fought that infection off." Cooper shouts. "What if Dylan picked up a more serious infection that his body couldn't fight off?

Charlotte gets out of bed now too. "That's a big _WHAT IF__, _Cooper, which never happened by the way!" She shouts at him. "Because his counts were NORMAL!"

Cooper runs his hands through his hair. "I can't believe you're taking Cole's side against Amelia. Next thing you'll tell me is you're testifying in court for Cole."

"I _am_ testifying for Cole."

"Charlotte? You're wrong!" Cooper deadpans.

Drew comes running into the room crying. He runs right for Charlotte's arms. "What's the matter, Squirt?"

Drew wipes his eyes "I don't like you and daddy to fight. I'm scared."

Noah looks in from the doorway. "You're not going to split up like Marley's parents are you?"

Charlotte and Cooper look at each other. Charlotte answers first. "Of course not, we were just having a disagreement."

Noah responds. "It sounded like you wanted to kill each other."

"Sorry." Cooper says. "We got carried away."

"Come here." Charlotte tells Noah."Come sit on the bed with Drew, I want to talk to you."

Noah and Drew sit on the bed. Charlotte sits next to them, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "I know you may not always remember this, but you're father and I are not just your parents but we're people with our own opinions. We don't always agree and that's okay. We still love each other."

Cooper adds, "Like when you kids fight with each other. You fight but you still love each other. We're not splitting up. We were arguing and we let it get loud and heated. I apologize for that."

"Why are Marley's parents breaking up then? They must have loved each other once if they got married?" Noah asks.

"Some problems are too big to reach a compromise." Charlotte tells them.

"Is your problem too big?" Drew asks.

"No." Cooper answers. "We were arguing about someone else's problem. It's Cole and Amelia's disagreement, your mother and I took opposite sides and that's okay. We're allowed to disagree but we carried it too far and I promise I'll try harder to not get angry over other people's problems."

"Do you promise to try harder not to fight with daddy too, momma?" Drew asks.

"I promise, Squirt.

* * *

><p>Review!<p> 


	45. Chapter 45

_**Chapter 45**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte's walking in the hospital corridor. Amelia approaches her with Sheldon. "Good morning, Charlotte, we're here with Dylan. He's here for another round of chemo."<p>

"Let me know if you need anything." Charlotte offers.

"We don't need anything from you." Amelia snaps. "You've done enough. If anything happens to Dylan because of Cole's negligence, it'll be on your head."

"It was the judge's decision to give Cole partial custody, not mine." Charlotte tells Amelia.

Amelia argues. "You were the key witness, Charlotte. You have clout. You're Chief of Staff, you've known Cole as a father to Tyler for sixteen years. The judge made his decision based on your testimony. If anything happens to my son, it's on you." Amelia stomps back into Dylan's hospital room.

Sheldon tells Charlotte. "I apologize for my wife. Amelia is under a lot of stress with Dylan so sick. He's her firstborn."

Charlotte nods. "I understand."

Sheldon pauses and tells Charlotte "What Amelia said to you wasn't entirely true. I'm sure the judge considered your testimony but he didn't base his decision primarily on you."

"What are you sayin', Sheldon?"

"After the proceeding the judge asked to speak with Dylan before making a decision. We brought Dylan to the judge's headquarters. Dylan's thirteen, he told the judge that he'd rather live with Cole if given the choice. Amelia was very hurt by that. The judge decided that we should continue to share custody of Dylan with Cole."

"I see." Charlotte nods.

"Amelia's hurt and stressed, you're her scapegoat. She'll come around."

"I hope it doesn't take too long."

"I'll talk to her some more about it." Sheldon smiles "I'm a shrink after all; I'll have you ladies friends again in no time."

"Thank you, Sheldon."

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler sit are seated at a table right in front of the stage at Giorgio's. This time they left their disguises at home. Allison's sitting alone at another table.<p>

The band takes the stage and Nicky's eye's dart back forth from Allison to Andie. He's clearly flustered when he sings the first song. Andie calls the waiter over and asks to request the song Amazed by Lone Star.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asks Andie.

"I'm fighting for my man."

Nicky's band gets the request. Nicky doesn't know who requested the song, so he sings it. He can't help but look at Andie while he's singing. It was the song he sang to her at the barn. She knows she still has a fighting chance when she notices he's looking at her when he sings. He's not looking at Allison.

Allison notices it too. She clearly looks shaken up that Nicky is singing to Andie.

Tyler and Andie stay until the band finishes singing the last song. So does Allison. As the band members climb down the steps of the stage Andie grabs Nicky and kisses him. She gives him a quick kiss on the lips to test him out. He stands still. She presses a second kiss into his lips and he still doesn't move. The third time she kisses him, she licks his parts open his lips. He returns the kiss and they lock tongues. She wraps her arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around her, engulfing her petite body in his strong arms. Allison and Tyler watch. Allison runs out of the restaurant clearly shaken up. Tyler decides to follow her.

Nicky breaks the kiss. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Why? I know you still love me. I could feel it."

"Allison's a nice girl. I can't do this to her." Nicky looks around the restaurant which is now empty besides some employees that are cleaning up. "Where'd she go?"

"Allison left with Tyler."

"Did she see us?" Nicky asks.

Andie shrugs her shoulders. "Don't know. I was a little busy."

Nicky rubs his head. "I have to call her."

"You need to drive me home first. Tyler was my ride."

"Can't you find another way home?"

"It's eleven pm. Who am I going to call to take me home?"

"Your father."

"Never mind, I'll walk." Andie stalks out the door of the restaurant, knowing full well that Nicky will follow her.

Nicky sighs and follows her out. "Let's go. I'll drive you home but I'm calling Allison after."

"I don't think Allison wants to talk to you tonight." Andie smirks and gets in Nicky's car.

* * *

><p>Drew knocks on the door of Charlotte and Cooper's bedroom. Cooper's reading while waiting for Charlotte to come home from work. "Come in." Cooper calls out.<p>

"Where's momma?"

"She's not home from work yet." Cooper answers. "What's the matter, Squirt? Can't you sleep?"

"I had a bad dream. I want momma."

"Come sit here next to me." Cooper pats a spot on the bed. "What happened in your dream?"

"The snakes were chasing me."

"Snakes can't run, Drew. You could out run them, snakes move slow."

"Not these snakes. They had little feet. They were wearing red sneakers and had big teeth."

"Fangs." Cooper explains. 'They're called fangs and snakes don't wear red sneakers that's how you know it was a dream."

"I want momma."

"Momma will be home any minute."

"Can I stay with you until momma comes home?"

Cooper looks at Drew. Charlotte and Cooper have had a rule since Andie was little that the kids must sleep in their own beds at night. Cooper looks down at Drew about to tell him no but he catches a glimpse of fear in the five year old's eyes. "You really are scared? Huh?"

Drew nods.

"Okay, you can stay with me but only until momma gets home."

"Okay." Drew leans up against Cooper. Cooper goes back to reading. About fifteen minutes later Charlotte walks in the door. She takes off her work jacket.

"What's Squirt doing?" She looks at Drew. "Sleeping in our bed?"

Cooper looks up from his Kindle. "He had a nightmare. He had this terrified look in his eyes so I told him he could stay just until you came home."

Charlotte nods.

Cooper goes to pick Drew up. "I'll carry him into his room."

"Let him stay."

Cooper looks up at Charlotte. "But our rule?"

"He looks peaceful. We can break our rule for one night."

"Wow." Cooper says. "I hope you're not going to go soft on me now."

"Never!" Charlotte flashes Cooper a naughty smile. "Looks like momma and daddy will have to improvise tonight."

"Are you serious?"

"Just shut up and get in the shower where I need you."

"Yes ma'am." Cooper hurries in the bathroom to disrobe. Charlotte grins, following him. They lock the bathroom door and turn the shower on.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW PLEASE<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**- Virginia: Since you don't have an account, I'll answer you here. Thank you for your kind review. I love to hear the readers input. I do consider it. As far as Andie and Nicky; half of my reviewers love them and the other half hate them. I can't please everyone. I already wrote most of this story and am just posting the chapters at this point. I do appreciate readers input but I can't change much of the plot since I already wrote it. Thanks for reading and keep reviewing =)_


	46. Chapter 46

_**CHAPTER 46**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **I want to advise you this chapter may be unsettling to some readers. It's not graphic. I'm not going to give away what will happen before you read the chapter. You can send me a PM and I'll gladly tell you the nature of the material if you're concerned. Once again, it's not graphic._

* * *

><p>It's nine pm on Friday night. Tess is supposed to meet Chase at the barn. Her brother drops her off at a fast food restaurant where she told him she was going to meet friends. She takes a short cut to the barn which is about three hundred feet away from the fast food restaurant and in back of the stables. The stables closed at six pm. There's nobody around so she and Chase can enjoy some privacy. Tess turns the lights on in the barn first. She puts on some music and the electric fireplace that Danielle and Lucas left there last year. She takes off her pink sweatshirt and jeans and sits down on the hay bale. She's wearing a black latex cat suit. She reads *To Kill A Mockingbird*, which is required reading for both her and Chase in tenth grade. Chase is her reading partner. She brought her Nook Tablet XLS along so they could catch up on some reading after.<p>

Chase's already running late. He had to stay overtime at his new job at the local veterinarian's office because of an emergency. Chase runs down the steps and hears a small voice. "Chase can you help me?"

"I'm late for a date, kid. Ask someone else." Chase heads for the door.

"I already did. Momma's working tonight and daddy's on the phone with Aunt Violet."

"Ask Noah."

"He said I had to wait until he's done skyping with Marley. That will take forever."

"What about Andie?"

"She's not home. Can you please help me, Chase?" Drew pleads.

"Pfffft." Chase goes back to help his little brother. "What do you need help with, Drew? It better be quick."

"I need you to help me log my Mechator into the computer. I don't know where to plug it in. I tried here, but it doesn't fit." Drew points.

Chase quickly looks over the directions and sets Drew up with his toy on the computer.

Drew's eyes light up when he can see his Mechator on screen. "Thanks Chase, wanna play with me?"

"Maybe another time. I gotta go." Chase runs for the door. It's starts raining as Chase drives towards the barn. After he drives about two miles he feels his tire go flat. "Shit!" He shouts. He gets out of the car and now the rain is coming down harder. He sends Tess a text " Got a flat."

She texts him back."Hurry."

He texts her again. "K"

She 's about to text him again but she hears footsteps outside walking towards the barn. She thinks maybe it's Andie with some dude she met. She gets up to grab her clothes. The door swings open. There's a strange man staring at her. "Looks like my lucky day." He smiles, his yellow teeth shining in the light. He stares at her for less than a minute in her latex cat suit.

Tess's heart nearly jumps out of her throat. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm came here for you." He snickers, before lunging towards her and crushing his lips into hers. She tries to push the short, muscular stranger away. The stranger gets angry and and punches her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. She keeps trying to push him away. He gives her three quick blows to the head before she see's black and passes out.

* * *

><p>It's pouring rain now. Chase rushes to change the tire and his finger gets caught on the rim of the tire. He quickly yanks it away. In his haste, Chase ends up taking the tip of skin off. His finger's bleeding like a pig. He calls Cooper, "Dad I sliced my finger changing a flat. I'm going to need stitches."<p>

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the corner, by the McDonald's."

"I'll be right there."

It doesn't take Cooper long to make the two mile drive to Chase. Chase gets in Cooper's new car. His finger's wrapped in a towel he had in the trunk of the car. Cooper takes a look at it. "That looks pretty bad. How did you do it?"

"I was changing the flat. I was in a rush cuz I'm already late to meet Tess. I sliced my finger on something sharp from the tire."

"Nothing should be sharp in the tire." Cooper tells him.

"Well, something was sharp. I didn't slice my finger on rubber."

"Remind me to show you how to change a tire again." Cooper looks at Chase "And try not to get any blood in my new car."

Chase tries to call Tess using the speaker phone in Cooper's car since he can't text with his hurt finger. He get's her voice mail, "It's me, I hurt my finger and have to go to the ER. Can you call your brother for a ride home?"

Tess doesn't call back. Chase wonders if she's mad at him. He can't think of any other reason she wouldn't pick up the phone.

Charlotte greets Cooper and Chase at the ER entrance. Charlotte looks at his finger and calls in the hand specialist to see him. "You took a chunk out of your finger tip." Charlotte tells Chase. "We'll give you a shot of pain med and have, Dr. Harvey, the hand specialist stitch it up."

The nurse gives Chase a shot of Demerol. Chase calls Tess' brother to ask if Tess called him for a ride home . The brother tells him no and that he is on his way to Monterey with his girlfriend. Chase worries about Tess now. He hopes she didn't try to walk home in the rain. "I have to go get Tess." Chase tells Charlotte.

"Sit back down. You can't drive anywhere with your finger in the state it's in, besides, the nurse just gave you a shot of Demerol."

"I was s'posed to meet Tess somewhere and she doesn't have a ride home. I don't want her to walk."

"Did you call her?" Charlotte asks.

"Yeah, she didn't answer. I think she may be mad at me for being so late." Chase tells Charlotte.

"Where is she?"

"At the barn in the back of the Ross Stables."

"What's she doing there …..never mind." Charlotte realizes now. "I'll send your father to get her."

Chase hopes Tess isn't wearing the black latex outfit when Cooper arrives since there's no lock on the barn door.

* * *

><p>Cooper arrives at the red barn. It's still raining. He knocks on the door. "It's Dr. Freedman. Chase sent me to get you. He got hurt." There's no answer. Cooper knocks again. "Tess, are you in there?" He gets no answer the second time so he turns to leave, as he walks away he decides to turn back and check out the barn where his children like to hang out. He opens the door and gasps in horror at the site of Tess lying motionless on a bale of hay. He checks her pulse and breathing and calls 911 for help. His next call is to Charlotte. "It's Tess. You're going to need to meet her ambulance in the ER."<p>

"What happened?" Charlotte asks.

"Someone attacked her in the barn. An ambulance is on the way."

"Just keep her calm, Cooper. Talk gently to her, she knows you." Charlotte instructs.

"I wish I could but she's unconscious. The guy beat her bad."

Charlotte gasps on the other side of the phone. She nearly drops it out of her hand. She feels her heart thump hard in her chest but she knows she has to pull it together if she's going to be able to help this sixteen year old girl.

"She's going to need you when she wakes up, Char."

Charlotte takes a deep breath. "I'll be here for her."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I know y'all love Tess so you're probably mad at me for this, but this is going to give Charlotte and Tess a special bond.**_


	47. Chapter 47

_**CHAPTER 47**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte waits for the ambulance to arrive. Cooper pulls up right behind the ambulance. Tess is still unconscious. Her face is red and starting to swell up. The medics rush her inside to ER. Cooper and Charlotte both rush to her side. Chase walks out of his ER room. His finger is wrapped in a large bandage. He notices Cooper and is about to ask about Tess when he sees both Charlotte and Cooper at the stretcher. "Oh my God! Is that Tess?" He exclaims. He looks at Cooper. "What happened? Was she hit by a car walking in the rain?" He rubs his head. "It's my fault she was walking home in the rain."<p>

"Let's get her in an exam room!" Charlotte calls out to her staff.

Cooper approaches Chase. 'Tess wasn't hit by a car."

Chase is confused and shaken." Then what happened to her?"

Cooper takes a deep breath and lets it out before saying, "I found her like that it the barn."

"But what could have happened to her in the barn to look like that?"

"Somebody did this to her Chase," Cooper says with tears in his eyes. "Somebody attacked Tess."

"Why?" Chase asks first.

"There are some evil people in the world...-" Cooper tries to explain but Chase interrupts.

"What exactly did they do to her did they…-"Chase can't say the word.

"I didn't examine her for it. I made sure she was breathing and then covered her with a blanket… but I think so." Cooper says.

"What was she wearing when you found her?" Chase asks.

"Nothing." Cooper looks down at the floor. "She was unconscious, just laying there when I found her."

"Oh my God then she was …-"Chase still can't say it. He puts his hands over his eyes. Cooper pats him on the back. He knows how it feels when this happens to the person you love, except Chase and Tess are only sixteen and it breaks Cooper's heart that they have to go through this.

"Who did it?" Chase asks.

"The police are investigating. They're going to need to talk to Tess when she wakes up for a description of the guy." Cooper holds his son and lets him cry on his shoulder.

Charlotte holds Tess's hand while they do a rape kit. Tess hasn't woke up yet but Charlotte holds her hand anyway. After they're done examining Tess, Amelia orders a Cat scan. Charlotte accompanies Tess for the Cat scan. While they're doing the Cat scan Tess wakes up in the machine screaming. Charlotte and the tech run over to her. Charlotte grabs Tess's hand and looks her in the eyes. "You're safe now. I'm here. You're safe now" is all she tells her and they finish the procedure. They settle Tess in a hospital room before they let the investigators in to talk to her. Tess tells the police she was waiting in the barn for her boyfriend when a short, muscular man with a shaved head and dark eyes grabbed her and started kissing her. She told the investigators when she tried to fight him off he started punching her until she blacked out and that's all she can remember. The investigators' leave and Charlotte takes a seat at Tess's bedside, holding her hand.

Tess looks at Charlotte. "Do my parents know?"

Charlotte tells her gently. "The police notified them. They're on their way."

Tess has tears in her eyes. "I didn't want them to know. They're going to be mad at me for going to the barn. I lied. I said I was meeting friends for chicken nuggets and fries."

"I don't think your parents are going to be mad at you once they see you. They love you."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Cooper found you at the barn. Chase sliced the tip of his finger off and had to go to the ER so he sent Cooper to pick you up."

Tess looks Charlotte in the eyes. "Did he tell Chase? Call him and tell him I don't want Chase to know about this."

"Why?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't want anyone to know. I don't want you to tell Chase or Andie or anyone. I don't want anyone at school to know. Everyone will stare and talk about what happened to me. Please don't tell anyone."

Charlotte rubs her head, "Nobody will know about this except the police, the DA and some of the staff here. My staff is very good with dealing with this. I have a rape crisis team and only people on that team will be able to treat you. They've taken a course and know how important the patient's privacy is in these types of situations."

"Will it be in the newspaper?"

"They will probably report there was an assault at the barn but they can't release your name."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, the police and the hospital are not allowed to give it to them for confidentiality reasons." Charlotte expains.

"Good." Tess swallows. "Then nobody will know except my parents, Dr. Freedman and you."

"And anyone you told you were going to the barn tonight." Charlotte advices. "The news will probably report it happened at the barn on Friday night but they won't give your name." Charlotte reassures her.

"The only one who knew I was going to be at the barn is Chase…Oh no…I don't want Chase to find out about it." Tess cries.

"I know how you feel but it's actually better that Chase does know so he can help you heal."

"How can Chase help me heal? He's going to feel sorry for me and he'll feel guilty for being late." Tells sniffles back her tears.

"He will feel those things. There's no way around it but you'll need his support."

"No, no, no." Tess cries "I don't want him to know. He'll think I'm weak and pathetic. I don't want his pity."

Charlotte squeezes Tess's hand. "I'm going to tell you something about me that not many people know, not even my children."

Tess looks Charlotte in the eye's waiting to hear what she has to say. "It happened a long time ago before Chase's dad and I were even married...-" Charlotte takes a deep beath looking at Tess before continuing, "it was Halloween night. I was working late. I just walked out of my office to go home and this man grabbed me. I didn't know what was happening. I was terrified. He covered my mouth with one of his dirty hands and he kept punching me with the other hand. He knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't move. He threw me back into my office and onto the ground. He got on top of me. I screamed but every time I screamed he's hit me harder."

Tess looks at her. "I never knew."

"How would you know? Chase doesn't know. I never told my children for the same reason you don't want to tell anyone. Heck, I didn't even tell anyone after it happened except a friend who was an OB/GYN and I only told her because I needed the morning after pill and the HIV cocktail which we you'll need to take too."

"Did you tell Cooper?"

"Not right away. I lied to the police. I told them the guy beat me up because he wanted my wallet. I was walking around living in my own hell, trying to keep it a secret."

"How did Cooper find out?"

"Violet Turner is a shrink, so she figured it out and told Cooper."

"You must have been mad at her for telling him."

"Believe it or not it was a huge relief."

"Really? Why?"

"Once Cooper knew what was really going on, I didn't have to worry about keeping this secret. It was only then that I could move forward and start the healing process."

"Did anyone else find out?"

Charlotte nods, "Some of my doctor friends who were there at the time it happened but nobody else has to know, just who you want to tell. I won't tell Andie or Chase."

Tess wipes her eyes. "Can you tell Chase for me? I can't do it."

Charlotte nods "I'll tell him."

"Please don't tell Andie. She might tell Danielle and she might tell someone else and soon the whole school will know. I can't handle that."

"I won't tell anyone unless I have your permission."

"Thank you."

Charlotte nods.

"Did they catch the guy that hurt _you_?" Tess asks Charlotte.

"He went to jail but not because of me. I lied at first about the attack. I said I was robbed, not raped. I lied during the line up and said he wasn't there even though he was. When Cooper found out he came with me for another line up but by then it was too late. I had no credibility with the DA anymore."

"I didn't tell the police everything either." Tess says.

"What didn't you tell them?" Charlotte asks.

"I woke up after I blacked out the first time. He had already pulled my outfit off and was on top of me. I screamed loud. He smiled at me and laughed before he punched me. I blacked out again."

"That's okay. You already gave them a description. That part isn't critical to the investigation."

"I don't know why I didn't want to tell them that." Tess wipes her eyes.

"Because, that's the part that hurt the most. This guy had the audacity, the cruelty to laugh at you when he hurt you." Charlotte explains. "Don't do what I did Tess. Help the police get this guy, not just so he can't hurt someone else but to take back control. Bring this guy down, Tess. Let's make sure he gets what's coming to him."

"I will." Tess squeezes Charlotte's hand.

"I'll help you." Charlotte tells her before they hear yelling outside of Tess's room.

"That sounds like my mother." Tess tells Charlotte.

"I'll go check it out." Charlotte gets up and goes into the hall where Tess's mother is yelling at Chase.

"This is your fault." Cyndi Powers yells at Chase. "My daughter was waiting for you at the barn! Wasn't she?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Powers." Chase says through tears.

"I don't want to catch you near my daughter again!"

"Yes ma'am." Chase answers.

Cooper and Mr. powers quietly look on. Charlotte looks at Cooper.

Cyndi yells at Chase again. "Now get out of here! I don't ever want to see you again!"

"That's enough." Charlotte tells Cyndi. "Your daughter is in that room and needs you to be calm and supportive. If you go in there yelling, I will not allow you in the room."

"I'm not upset with my daughter. This is your son's fault." Cyndi tells Charlotte before going in to see Tess.

Charlotte looks at Chase who's leaning up against the wall now so she can't see his face. Charlotte tells Cooper. "You go home and check on the kids. Let me talk to Chase."

Cooper nods and walks away. Charlotte gently rubs Chases's back. "It's all my fault momma. This is all my fault." Chase says through his teary eyes.

"It's not your fault." Charlotte tells him. She escorts him to a seat in the waiting room.

"It is my fault. I was late. I should have been there at nine but I got out of work late and then Drew needed help with his toy, then I got a flat. I was really late."

"You didn't do it on purpose. Those are the kind of things that happen to all of us. I've gotten flats. I don't need to tell you how many times I've got hung up late at work. You're not the person to blame for stopping to help your little brother with something." Charlotte looks Chase in the eyes."_You _are not to blame. You didn't do this to her."

Chase wipes his eyes.

Charlotte rubs his back "The only person to blame is that sick man that did this to Tess."

"But her parents blame me and Tess probably blames me for being late."

"Her parents are very upset that this happened. They need someone to lash out at it and right now you're it, but once this guy is caught they will direct their anger in the right direction."

"Does Tess blame me?"

"Not a bit. She didn't want you to know she was assaulted at first but I convinced her it would be better if you knew. She asked me to tell you. She doesn't want to talk to you about it so when you go in there don't treat her any different that you normally would. She doesn't want your sympathy or pity. She wants you to look at her as the same girl she was before the attack."

"So, I'll just go in there and talk about what?" Chase looks confused.

"Talk about your finger. Tell her about your emergency at work. If she wants to talk to you about what happened to her, let her do it at her own pace. Don't push her."

"I don't want her to think I'm selfish if I go in there talking about my cut finger when she's hurt so much worse."

"She won't think that. She needs you to do that. Don't make her feel like a helpless victim. Let her talk to you about hurting your finger. Help build her back up by letting her be strong. He parents are probably in there now making her feel like a victim. That's the last thing she wants or needs. After they leave, you go in there and build her up."

"Okay momma. Thanks, I'm glad you're a doctor and know so much about this stuff."

Charlotte clenches her lips tight. Chase doesn't know the real reason why she knows how Tess is feeling and what Tess needs. She never told her children.

"Any more tips before I visit Tess, momma?"

"It's important to her that nobody at school finds out about this so please don't mention it to any of your friends or even Andie. She doesn't want anyone to know except the police and hospital staff."

"I won't tell anyone." Chase hugs his momma.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	48. Chapter 48

_**CHAPTER 48**_

* * *

><p>It's Saturday afternoon, Chase walks in Tess's hospital room armed with a bouquet of assorted pink, red and white flowers. "These are for you." He smiles and hands them to her. He tries not to stare too much at the left side of her face which is bruised. He doesn't look at her swollen left eye either. Her lip is swollen up real fat on the left side and she has a bite wound on her neck. She's weaing a grey sweat shirt and jeans that cover up any other wounds she might have.<p>

"Thank you." She smiles.

"I would have come earlier but your parents wouldn't leave and they don't want me to see you." He tries to avoid looking directly at her face,

"It's okay. I talked to my momma and told her I want to see you." Tess holds his hand "Right about now my momma will give me anything I want. I should probably ask for a Mercedes convertible."

Chase chuckles a little at that. "You deserve it." He plays with the splint on his finger which is wrapped in gauze.

"What happened to your hand?" Tess looks at his bandaged finger.

"I guess you never got my message. I sliced the tip off my finger while changing a flat tire on the way to meet you at the barn."

She looks away towards the wall when he mentions the barn, he notices. He continues "I sliced a big chunk of skin off the tip. The hand specialist stitched it up. Now I have to wear this splint." Chase wonders if he sounds petty complaining to Tess about his finger when her injuries look so much worse, but this is what his momma told him to talk about, so he tries it.

"That must have hurt." Tess lifts up his bandaged finger to get a look.

"It hurt and it was bleeding like crazy. My dad was all worried about me dripping blood in his new car."

Tess smiles. "That's because he's a doctor. The sight of blood doesn't bother him like it does us."

"Right?" Tess nods. He's glad he got Tess to smile. I guess momma was right he thinks to himself and continues to talk about anything but the assault. "My parents are hoping I'll be a doctor one day but I don't know how I can do that if i can't take my own finger bleeding."

"It's probably because it's your finger that you freaked. If someone else was hurt and bleeding I'm sure you wouldn't run away." Tess tells him.

Chase doesn't want to say it but he's having a really hard time looking at her injuries. "I think I'll stick to working in the Veterinarian's office for now."

Tess lifts up his hand and kisses the bandaged finger. "I'm sorry you goot hurt."

Hearing her say that , that she's sorry he hurt his finger while she's so beaten and broken, tears at his heartstrings. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I got hung up at work late. Somebody poisoned two of the cats that live at the Vets office. They put rat poisin in their food we think."

"How do you know?"

"Some guy ran in the Vet's office with Fluffy, she was seizing. And then we found Princess outside vomiting. Someone either poisoned their water or food dish outside the Vets office."

"Why would someone do that?"

"There are some sick and cruel people in the world." Chase tells her.

Tess sighs thinking she knows all about that first hand.

Chase continues his story hoping to distract Tess form her assault. "The cats live outside the Vets office, they don't bother anyone. We feed and take care of them. I don't know why anyone would want to hurt them unless their crazy cakes."

"Are Fluffy and Princess going to be okay?"

"They are now. We had to give them an antidote and pump their stomachs. Good thing that guy brought Fluffy inside to us or we would have never known."

"Who was the guy that found her?"

"Some customer who takes his dog there as a patient but it was weird because his dog wasn't seen that day. So, I don't know what he was doing there. He brought the dog in last Friday that's why I remembered him." Chase is glad to be distracting Tess. She seems to be her normal self, not broken or sad at least now whilet they're discussing the cats.

"I went to visit you at the Vet's office last Firday. You showed me around before you got off work and then we drove to the….barn together." There she said it-the barn

"That's right." He tries not to focus on the barn so he continues with his story. "They sent all of us techs out to see to check the property to make sure none of the other cats were poisoned. That's why I was running late and then I got the flat."

"How did you slice your finger on the tire?"

"I don't know. My dad asked me the same thing. There must have been something sharp on the tire." Chase shrugs, "So, that's what happened. It was a bad night."

Tess nods "For me too. Luckily, I don't remember most of what happened."

"You don't?"

"The guy punched me out so I don't remember what he did."

"That's a good thing, I guess?" Chase's surprised Tess started to open up to him about the assault on her own. He didn't even ask her about it.

"Yeah, I think it's better that I wasn't aware what he was doing to me. I wouldn't want to be awake for it but it still sucks. I know what he did by my injuries."

"I'm sorry I was late." Chase looks up at her now.

"It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself or I'll feel worse."

"Okay."

Tess holds Chase's hand being gentle with his injured finger. "I'm so grateful that we already had sex, that I wasn't a virgin when this happened to me. I think my mother is happy about that too after she realized it. That's why she told me it's okay to still see you."

Chase nods.

Tess tells him. "You made it sex good and something I look forward to. If last night was my first experience I'd never want to do it again."

"So, you think you still want to do it after going through that?"

Tess nods. "I want to do it as soon as we can."

"Why?" Chase is surprised.

"I don't want my last time to be with him. I don't want that disgusting guy to be the last one that touched me."

Chase nods. "I'm here for you. I'll do whatever you need to get you through this…to get us through this."

"Thank you." Tess smiles at his with her swollen lip. "Please don't tell anyone what happened to me. I don't want anyone to know."

"I promise. I won't.

* * *

><p>Tyler and Andie meet for lunch. "We have to make Nicky break up with Allison." Andie tells Tyler.<p>

"You are persistent." Tyler laughs.

"Didn't you tell me Nicky meets Allison for lunch sometimes at the campus food court?"

"He meets her there on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you have school so don't get any ideas." Tyler tells her.

"It's okay. I'll pretend I'm sick on Tuesday and meet you outside the food court. What time does Nicky meet her for lunch?"

"Around twelve thirty."

"I need a big favor from you."

Tyler sighs. "What now?"

"You're friends with Allison now right? You've started talking to her in class?"

"I talk to her on campus but I wouldn't call us friends."

"Well, get friendlier with her by Tuesday. You're a hot looking dude, work it."

"What?" Tyler screws up his face.

"You have until Tuesday to work your magic on Allison. I want you to kiss her when Nicky walks in so he thinks she's cheating."

"That sounds like a bad plan, a very, bad plan."

"Just work your magic on her, so doesn't push you away."

"I can't promise anything, Andie."

"But you'll give it a try?"

Tyler thinks about it.

"Please,Tyler." Andie begs "Please. I'll do anything you want when you need a favor just please do this for me."

Tyler takes a minute to think and shrugs his shoulers. "I got nothing to lose."

"So you'll do it?"

He nods "Yeah, I'll do it."

Andie smiles and hugs Tyler.

* * *

><p>Cooper knocks and enters Charlotte's office. "What's that?" Charlotte looks at the bag in his hand.<p>

"Thought you might be hungry." Cooper waves the bag in the air in front of her.

Charlotte smiles. "I am. You know me too well."

"That." Cooper chuckles. "And it's lunch time."

Charlotte rubs her hands together. "What is it?"

Cooper puts the bag down in front of her. "I thought about turkey sandwiches but I decided this was a fried chicken kind of day."

Charlotte reaches into the bag and pulls out a bottle of water and a small box of fried chicken. "Why is it a fried chicken sort of day?"

"That's what I used to bring you when I wanted to talk to you about the hard stuff."

Charlotte bites into the chicken. "I remember." Charlotte swallows her chicken. Cooper goes to grab a piece. Charlotte slaps his hand. "You're not allowed to eat this stuff, Mister."

Cooper looks at her. "Back off, momma," he teases. "I had them _bake_ a piece for me. You can tell this piece is the baked one. It's not as crispy as yours."

"Okay, then. Someone 'round here needs to look out for ya'." Charlotte takes a sip of water.

"And someone needs to look out for you."

"Why do I need looking out for?" Charlotte takes another bite of chicken.

Cooper looks at her. "I just thought what happened to Tess might have brought back some old feelings for you."

Charlotte tells Cooper. "Right now. I'm so worried about Tess, I can't think about myself."

Cooper picks up his chicken. "That's why I'm here."

Charlotte puts down her chicken."I told Tess what happened to me."

Cooper nods "Oh."

"I had to. She didn't want to tell Chase."

"Chase knows." Cooper explains. "He was in the ER when the ambulance brought her in. He saw her."

"I know that but s_he_ didn't know that. I told her I would talk to Chase for her."

"Did you?" Cooper sips his water.

"Yes, I told Chase not to push her. I told him to let her talk about it when she was ready." Charlotte picks up her chicken again.

"Like I did with you." Cooper wipes his mouth. "I tried not to push you to talk about it after Violet told me."

"And I appreciate that. I do." Charlotte wipes her mouth before taking a deep breath and asks. "How come you never asked me after all these years?"

"Asked you what?" Cooper raises his eyebrows.

"The details of what exactly_ he _did to me." Charlotte scowls. "What dirty things he did to me. You never asked."

"I never asked but I knew." Cooper nods. "I knew what he did to you."

"How?"

"The way you reacted when I touched you in certain spots, when I kissed you in certain spots, after we started to be intimate again. I knew where he had been." Cooper clears his throat. "Did you want me to ask?"

Charlotte sighs deeply. "No! God no!" Charlotte swallows. "I just wondered if you were curious about the details but too afraid to ask."

"I know what he did to you, Charlotte." Cooper looks down at the empty chicken box.

"Thank you."

"For what? The chicken?" Cooper furrows his brow.

"For not asking me the details of what went on, for not making me tell you every nasty thing he did to me."

Cooper nods his head. He understands how hard it is for her to talk about this.

Charlotte tells him."Tess doesn't know what he did to her. She was blacked out." Charlotte swallows before continuing. "She doesn't know where he touched her, where he licked her, where he bit her."

Cooper nods. "That's good." He looks at Charlotte sympathetically. He knows she still remembers to this day everywhere Lee McHenry touched her, everywhere he licked her, everywhere he bit her. He wishes she didn't remember, but he knows she does.

"Stop lookin' at me like that."

"Like what?" Cooper shrugs.

"Like I'm some pathetic stray kitty that you want to take home and nurse back to health. I'm fine, Cooper."

Cooper changes the look on his face and his tone of voice. He sits up straight. "I know you are. Charlotte King, you are the strongest woman I ever met."

"Thank you." Charlotte gets ups from her desk and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Now, some of us have to get back to work."

"Okay, but if you need anything and I mean anything just ask." Cooper gets up.

"Now that you mention it, you can file those Charts over there by the window." Charlotte points.

Cooper looks at the tall stack of charts on the window ledge. His eyes bug wide open.

"You asked." Charlotte smirks as she leaves her office to get back to her Chief of Staff duties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_

_** I'm going away for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I plan to bring my iPad and have already written up to chapter 114 already. It's just a matter of posting the chapters. If and when I take a break from visiting with my family I will try and post one chapter a day. If not, I hope y'all have a very Happy Thanksgiving! =)**_


	49. Chapter 49

_**CHAPTER 49**_

* * *

><p>Andie cuts out of her high school classes Tuesday afternoon to meet Tyler at the University's food court. She's wearing a red blouse and a short denim skirt with heels. Her long red hair is pulled up in a ponytail. Tyler walks in the food court and sits down next to Allison. Andie watches them talk. They appear to be having a friendly chat. Andie looks around. She spies Nicky walking towards the food court. She texts Tyler "now."<p>

Tyler leans in, smiles at Allison and kisses her. To Andie's surprise Allison returns the kiss and pursues it which is a nice surprise for Tyler. Allison wraps her arms around Tylers' neck and Tyler wraps his arms around her. Andie turns around to see Nicky standing next to her watching the kiss. "I'm going to kill him." Nicky says.

"Your girlfriend is into it more that Tyler. Look at Aly go." Andie says in a teasing tone trying get Nicky even more riled up about the kiss.

Nicky turns to leave. Andie follows him. Nicky stops and turns "Why are you here Andie?" He demands. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Andie looks at him and shrugs, she has no good answer.

"You set this up! You told Tyler to kiss Allison to piss me off and make me break up with her." Nicky accuses.

Andie puts her hands on her hips. "Maybe I did ask Tyler to kiss her but honestly I was afraid she would push Tyler away and it would all be a waste of time. But that's not what happened, Nicky. She kissed Tyler back." Andie chuckles a little. "Probably shocked the hell out of Tyler, but I'm sure he doesn't mind."

Nicky shakes his head at her.

"Don't be mad at me, Nicky. I did it because I love you and yes I do want you to break up with Allison. This was the only way I could think to do it."

Nicky just stands there. He doesn't respond.

Andie pleads. "I did it because I love you Nicky. I'll do anything it takes to get you back. Let me ask you one thing?"

Nicky sighs, "What?"

"Do you still love me?"

Nicky answers. "I'm trying really hard not to."

Andie has her hands on her hips. "Stop trying and just go with it."

Nicky stands still in deep thought. Andie puts her hands on his hips and wiggles her hips against him. He looks down to see what she's doing. She takes the opportunity to reach up and places a gentle kiss on his lips. He looks her in the eyes. She reaches up and slowly grazes her tongue against his lips. He parts them for her and the next thing she knows their tongues are dancing. He pulls her in tight. After a minute, he grabs her hand. "Come on, I better take you back to school before you get in trouble."

* * *

><p>Charlotte knocks on the door of Tess's hospital room. "I hear you're being discharged tomorrow."<p>

"Yep." Tess nods.

"Good, this is a step in your recovery." Charlotte sits in the chair next to her. "It means your body is physically healing."

"Thanks, I'm feeling better today."

"You may need some help healing emotionally. I want you to consider talking to a therapist. I recommend Violet Turner or Alexis Rhodes. I work with both of them, they're both excellent. Violet is in her fifties and has experience with dealing with sexual assault. Alexis is younger but she's very easy to talk to."

"I met Dr. Rhodes. They sent her in to talk to me after I was admitted. She seems nice."

"So, will you talk to her?"

Tess nods. She's holding her Nook Tablet XLS in her hand.

"I see you're reading To Kill a Mockingbird. That's my favorite book." Charlotte tells her.

"Chase told me that. We have to read it as part of the tenth grade required reading material. Chase and I are reading partners."

"I remember Andie had to read it last year when she was in tenth grade."

"Did she like it?"

"I think so, but she would never admit it to me since it's my favorite book." Charlotte tells her.

"You didn't tell Andie what happened to me, did you?"

"Course not. That's privileged information."

"I don't have anything against Andie but she has friends at school. I'm afraid if she tells one of them it will get spread around the school."

"You don't have to explain anything to me." Charlotte tells her.

"I'm not going back to school until these bruises are gone."

"Chase can bring your work home to you."

"Did I tell you the police sketch artist came to see me earlier?" Tess asks.

"No, you didn't."

"I had to give them details about what he looked like. I did the best I could but it happened so fast and most of the time I was looking at his fist."

Charlotte shakes her head. "Let's hope they catch him soon."

* * *

><p>Noah's skyping with Marley. "Did you hear Lila and some other kids got cut skipping class again today?" Marley asks Tyler.<p>

"What were they doing this time?"

"Smoking weed and drinking beer at the beach." Marley informs him.

"But they already got caught and got suspension for doing that. Why would they do it again?" Noah asks.

"I don't think they care about getting detention." Marley tells him." They're just looking for attention."

"Violet and Pete pay attention to Lila." Noah tells her.

"I didn't mean that they're looking for attention from their parents. They're looking for attention from other students so that people think they're cool." Marley tells him.

"I must be a nerd because I don't think it's cool." Noah tells Marley.

Marley laughs. "I actually said that to Lila today. I told her it wasn't cool."

"What did Lila say?"

"She said wasn't trying to be cool. She said she liked the way it made her feel."

"How did it make her feel?"

"She said it made her feel super relaxed like she was outside her body and her whole life was more vivid...-" Marley laughs. "For real. She really said her life was more vivid."

Noah interrupts."What does that even mean?"

"I don't know but it sounds wicked." Marley says with excitement in her voice.

"Sounds like you want to try it."

Marley hesitates before answering. She twitches her nose at Noah. "Maybe just once to see if it's as wicked as Lila says."

"Hmm?" Noah thinks.

"You want me to ask her to get us some and we can try it together?" Marley asks.

Noah thinks a minute then shrugs. "K. Why not?" He tries to justify his thinking. "Everybody tries it once."

"Good. I'll ask her tomorrow." Marley smiles and continues the conversation. "Lila lost a lot of weight too."

"I hadn't noticed."

"I only noticed because we used to be the same size and share jeans. She gave me all her jeans to keep because they're too big for her now. I'm not fat. Right?"

"You're not fat, you're normal." Noah answers.

"You think I need to lose weight?"

"I like you the way you are."

"Lila must think I'm fat because she went on a diet. She thought she was fat and we were the same size." Marley explains.

"Who cares if Lila thinks you're fatter than her?"

"I do." Marley shoots.

"I'm your boyfriend and I don't care." Noah tells her.

Drew comes running into the room to do his monster checks. "I gotta go." Noah tells her, "the little monster is listening."

"See you at school tomorrow." Marley tells him.

"See you tomorrow, Skelly."

"Skelly? Why'd you call me Skelly?"

"It's short for Skeleton. I just thought it up as a nickname, so you don't think your fat." Noah tells her.

"K, Then I like it." They purse their lips and kiss each other through the computer screen before logging off.

"Eww!" Drew runs down the hall. "Noah kisses his computer."


	50. Chapter 50

_**CHAPTER 50**_

* * *

><p>Chase comes home from school to find Cooper waiting for him on the couch. "Why are you home so early, dad?"<p>

"The mechanic called me this morning." Cooper answers.

"What mechanic?"

"From the shop where I had the car towed after you got the flat."

"Heh, they're calling now? It took them long enough to fix a flat tire." Chase comments

"They left a voice mail for me on Saturday to call them back. I figured they just wanted to let me know the car was ready. I didn't call them back until today." Cooper explains.

"So, you want to go pick it up now?"

"The police want to look at it first." Cooper tells him.

"Why?"

"The reason the mechanic called me on Saturday was to let me know there were three razor blades imbedded in the tire."

"Really?"

"That's what you sliced your finger on. One of them was sticking out of the tire." Cooper tells him.

"I didn't see them, but it was dark and raining. I wonder how three razor blades ended up in my tire." Chase tells him.

"The mechanic found another razor blade in the front tire. It would have gone flat next."

"How did all these razor blades get in my tires?" Chase asks.

"The mechanic thought it was suspicious. He thinks someone vandalized your car. I called the police to inform them." Cooper tells.

"Oh my God, dad. Do you think someone vandalized my car on purpose so I wouldn't make it to the barn to meet Tess?"

"That's the first thing that came to my mind when the mechanic told me he thought it was done deliberately. I told that to the police. They want to come talk to you before they examine the car for evidence. I told them to come after school."

"Daddy!" Drew calls out. "Help!"

"What's wrong Drew?"

"You have to hide me." Drew runs up to Cooper.

"Why?" Cooper asks.

"The policeman is coming up the driveway. I don't want to go to jail." Drew cries.

"Why are you going to jail?" Chase asks.

"I stole some Lego's from the classroom."

"Why?" Chase screws up his face. "We have Lego's here."

"They have better Lego's at school. I stuffed some in my pockets. Ashley saw me. She must have told on me and the teacher called the police." Drew cries." I don't want to go to jail."

"Relax, Squirt. The policeman is here for Chase, not you." Cooper picks Drew up.

"I don't want Chase to go to jail." Drew cries.

"Chase isn't going to jail either."

The officer knocks on the door. Drew cries again. "Hide me, daddy. I'm scared." Cooper puts Drew down. "Go hide in your room, Squirt."

Chase runs up the stairs as fast as he can. Cooper let's the officer in. It's an older officer in his fifties.

The officer walks in the house. "I've been in this house before." He tells them. "Many years ago."

"Really?" Chase says. "When?"

"It had to be over ten years ago. A three year old boy was missing."

"Ah, yes," Cooper nods. "This is that three year old boy. He's sixteen now." Cooper smiles.

"Momma told me about that. I was next door playing with Nicky but nobody knew where I was." Chase nods.

"It's nice to meet you again, young man." The officer shakes his hand. They all move into the living room. Chase sits next to the officer on the couch. "I understand they found three razor blades in your tire?"

"Yes," Cooper answers. "The mechanic thinks it was deliberate. Chase was supposed to meet his girlfriend at the barn at Ross Stabile, she was assaulted that night. We think someone wanted to keep Chase from making it to the barn." Cooper explains.

"That would make it a first degree crime if it was planned." The officer writes on his clipboard. He asks Chase "Who else knew your girlfriend was going to be at the barn?"

"Nobody. We didn't tell anyone." Chase shrugs.

"Maybe, your girlfriend did." The officer suggests.

"I doubt it." Chase answers.

"Someone could have been stalking her. If they deliberately vandalized your car to keep you from going to the barn, someone was after her. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt your girlfriend?" The officer asks.

"No." Chase shakes his head. "Nobody."

"We'll talk to your girlfriend and we'll have to do a forensic exam on your car looking for fingerprints or any other signs of vandalism."

"Okay." Chase gets up with the officer and shows him to the door.

"If you think of anything, here's my card." The officer hand it to Chase and leaves.

Cooper yells up the stairs. "The coast is clear. You can come out now."

Drew runs to the steps and calls down to Cooper. "Did the policeman leave?"

"He did but you better return those Lego's to your teacher tomorrow or I'm calling him to come back." Cooper teases.

"K, daddy. I promise I will." Drew runs back to his room.

Chase calls Tess to tell her about the tire. "They're planning a line up for tomorrow." Tess tells Chase. "Can you come with me?"

"Yes. I'll be there." Chase nods into the phone.

"Can you ask your momma to come too?" Tess asks.

"I'll ask her tonight when she comes home from work."

"Thanks."

"I have to ask you something."

"What?" Tess asks.

"Did you mention to anyone that we meet at the barn on Friday nights?"

"No. I don't have any friends. Remember? Who would I tell?" Tess asks.

"I don't know. Maybe somebody overheard us talking when we were out to eat or something. Maybe it was some waiter at a restaurant who overheard us talking about meeting at the barn on Fridays or maybe it was someone at another table." Chase thinks out loud.

"Why do you think someone overheard us?"

"It was planned. They found three razor blades in my tire and another razor blade in a different tire. For that to happen the same night is no coincidence, Tess. That guy planned on attacking you." Chase tells her.

"Why me?"

"Well, you're beautiful for one."

"Stop."

"You are, but it was also convenient for him, an isolated barn. He knew you would be there all alone if he cut my tires."

"I hope he's one of the guys in the line up tomorrow. I want answers."

"Me too." Chase sighs.


	51. Chapter 51

_**CHAPTER 51**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte stands on the left side of Tess, holding her left hand while Chase stands on the right side, holding her right hand. "Okay." The police warden says. "The men are lining up now."<p>

It doesn't take Tess a second to pick him out. "Number two." She says with a crack to her voice. Charlotte squeezes her hand tight for support.

"Number two. Please step forward." The warden announces. The short stocky man steps forward.

"That's him." Tess tells the warden.

"Are you sure?" The warden asks.

"It's definitely the guy who attacked me. I remember his face."

"Okay. You can step out now." The warden tells her. "Someone from the DA's office will call you."

Charlotte, Chase and Tess leave. "I'm proud of you." Charlotte hugs Tess.

As they walk out of the building Chase tells Tess and Charlotte. "I recognized that guy."

"Why didn't you say anything in there if you recognized him?" Charlotte asks.

"The warden swore us too silence in the line up room. I didn't want to mess anything up so I kept my mouth shut." Chase tells them. "But, I recognized him as soon as I saw him."

"Who is he?" Tess asks.

"He's the guy I told you about at the Vet's office where I work. He brought Fluffy in after she was poisoned." Chase tells her.

"I remember you said you didn't know what he was doing there because his dog wasn't a patient that day." Tess tells Chase.

"Maybe he poisoned those cats on purpose." Charlotte suggests. "Did he ever see you with Tess?"

"Yeah, he was there one Friday with his dog when I was giving Tess a tour of the office."

"Did you talk about going to the barn in front of him?" Charlotte asks.

"No." Tess adds. "But, it was at the end of the day right before Chase went off duty that he gave me the tour. We went straight to the barn from there."

"He may have followed you. You need to make the police and the DA's office aware of it." Charlotte advices them.

Tess squeezes Chase's hand "Good thing you remembered him from the Vets' office because I didn't."

* * *

><p>Andie opens the door to the tiny cottage behind Sheldon and Amelia's house. "Surprise!" Andie tells Nicky.<p>

"What is this place?" Nicky looks around the small cottage

"Sheldon and Amelia are looking for a new tenant. I told them I knew someone who was interested. They'll give you a good deal if you take care of the place and don't throw parties." Andie explains.

"Did you rent it for me?"

"Not yet. Sheldon gave me the keys to let you have a look. It has a cute little kitchen and it's completely furnished. You don't have to buy any furniture." Andie tries to sell the place to him.

Nicky looks around. "The bathroom's small. There's just a shower and toilet."

Andie adds,"and a sink with cabinets underneath. You're a guy; you don't need a big make up counter."

"I guess." Nicky walks through the kitchen. "I like this." He says.

"And, you got a little living room to watch TV. Let me show you the bedroom." Andie leads him to the small room off the living room. There's a champagne bottle on the bed with two plastic glasses.

"Did you leave the champagne?" Nicky picks up the bottle and reads the label. "This is good stuff."

"The real estate lady that Sheldon and Amelia hired left it to make it more desirable. So what do you think?" Andie asks. "This could be our little hideaway. Sheldon and Amelia won't bother us. They're cool."

"As long as I could afford it, I'm in." Nicky says. "I'm almost twenty one, I need my own place."

"You can afford it. Sheldon and Amelia want a good tenant they can trust, just tell them what you can afford to pay and see what they say." Andie sits on the bed next to him and kisses him. "I'm so excited."

Nicky kisses her flat down on the bed. "So is Mr. Nick."

"Show me." Andie smiles.

"You got it." Nicky frantically removes his clothes throwing them about while Andie does the same. He kisses down her neck.

"I've missed this so much." She tells him.

"Me too." He licks her breasts earning him some moans of pleasure before he enters her. After they both reach their climax he lays next to her.

"That was amazing. " She tells him. "It was even better than I remember."

"Because, it's been such a long time." Nicky says.

"I hope we don't ever have to wait that long again." Andie tells him.

"Did you and Tyler screw when we were broken up?" Nicky asks.

"Course not. Tyler's like a brother to me. You're still the only man I've ever been with."

"Good." Nicky smiles.

"Did you bang Allison?"

Nicky stays quiet so she asks again. "Did you bang Allison while we were broken up?"

He hesitates and lets out a deep breath. "Uhhm. ..hmmm…. You broke up with me. I didn't cheat." He reminds her.

"You didn't wait very long. What did you two hit the sack on the first date?" Andie asks.

"Pretty much, yeah." Nicky answers. "I was doing my best to try and forget about you. Allison was a distraction from always thinking about you."

"Did it work?"

"No."

"So, why didn't you just leave her when I told you I wanted you back?" Andie asks.

"Allison's a nice girl. I didn't want to hurt her or make her feel like I was using her because you broke up with me."

"But, you were?" Andie asks.

"I told you I needed the distraction. I couldn't stay home and think about you and I didn't want to go to bars and drown my sorrows. She liked me so I went with it."

"I hope you didn't just give me an STD. My momma says when you sleep with a guy, it's like sleeping with everyone he ever slept with, so if Allison has an STD from a guy she slept with now I'm going to get it." Andie complains.

"I used condoms with Allison. You're still the only girl I've ever slept with, without a condom."

"Good." Andie feels a little better. She looks around the room. "I really like this place. The barn is cozy but a soft bed beats a hay bale anyday."

Nicky answers. "I like having sex on the hay bale. It's different."

"We could still go to the barn sometimes for variety." Andie rubs his chest with her fingers.

"I wouldn't go back there again." Nicky says while rubbing her shoulder.

Andie furrows her brow."Why not? You just said you liked the hay bales."

"Didn't you hear what happened at the barn last Friday night?"

"No. What?" Andie asks.

"They said on the news a teenage girl was raped at the barn last Friday night." Nicky tells her. "Our barn days are over."

"Did they say who she was?" Andie asks.

"They don't publicize the names of rape victims." Nicky tells her.

Andie stares at the ceiling. "I think it was Tess."

Nicky rolls on his side to look at her. "Why would you think it was Tess?"

"She hasn't been at school all week. The last time I saw her was last Friday at school. Chase said she had the stomach flu."

"Maybe she does have the flu. Just because she missed a week of school doesn't mean she was raped."

"I told Chase and Tess about the barn." Andie tells Nicky.

"Why?"

"I told them the barn was a secluded spot where they could get some privacy. My house is swarming with people. You can't get any privacy."

"Who else knows about the barn?" Nicky asks.

"Danielle told me about it, but Lucas is at Yale so they haven't been using it. Plus, Danielle has been at school all week, she looks fine."

"You and Danielle aren't that tight anymore?" Nicky asks.

"Danielle thinks she's some hot shot now that she got accepted into Yale. She's been hanging with these other girls who got accepted into Yale too." Andie explains. "It's like the little Yale club."

"Danielle could have told one of them about the barn." Nicky suggests. "It could have been one of them."

"I guess." Andie nods. "I hope it wasn't Tess."

Nicky nudges Andie on the shoulder. "I forgot to tell you Dr. Montgomery called me last week. She's planning a party at her house to celebrate Danielle getting into Yale. She asked my band to play at the party."

"Are you going to?" Andie asks.

"Better believe it." Nicky smiles. "Dr. Montgomery offered to pay us three times as much as we normally get. That'll help pay the rent for this place."

"Why's she paying so much?"

"It's a Friday night. We have a contract to play at Giorgios' every Friday night this season. We have to pay a penalty to Giorgios' if we back out that night. Dr. Montgomery is making it up to us and then some." Nicky boasts.

"Oh well," Andie sighs. "I was going to ask you to go as my date but if you're working, I'll have to find another date for the party." She teases.

"You better be bluffing, Belle."

"Why? What are you going to do to me if I'm not?" She flirts.

"I'm going to have to get physical with you." He tickles her in her favorite places.

"Well then, I'm not bluffing." She smiles.

"Okay." He tells her."You asked for it. You're gonna get it good." He tickles her some more.

"Give it to me good." She teases before grabbing his face and kissing him and they're at it again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	52. Chapter 52

_**CHAPTER 52**_

* * *

><p>Andie breezes into the fast food restaurant with Noah and Marley following behind. "There's Tyler, you two get your food and sit at a different table I need to talk to him." Andie tells her younger brother and his girlfriend.<p>

"I didn't know you were meeting my brother here." Marley's curious.

"Why would you? Now scoot. Go get your food and leave us alone." Andie shoos Noah and Marley away.

Marley rolls her eyes at Noah. "You're sister can be so rude."

"You don't need to tell me, I live with her." Noah smirks and they line up to order their food.

Andie sits down across from Tyler.

"I didn't know you were bringing my little sister along." Tyler pops a french fry in his mouth.

"Noah's been craving fast food. We're not allowed to have it in the house anymore since my dad's heart attack and since the kid can't drive I figured I'd take them along." Andie sneaks one of Tyler's fries and asks. "Why did you want me to meet you here?"

Tyler passes her a cheeseburger with her own fries and a soda. "Here my treat."

"Huh," Andie takes a fry. "I take you to Giorigio's when I want something and you buy me fast food." Andie pops another frie in her mouth. "Not fair."

Tyler chuckles. "You look like you're enjoying it."

"Yeah well." Andie smirks. "Are you going to tell me why I'm here?"

Tyler looks around for Marley and Noah. ""I don't want my sister to hear what I'm going to ask you."

"Don't worry, I told them they couldn't sit with us." Andie unwraps her cheeseburger.

"Good."

"What do you want to ask me?" Andie's getting impatient.

"I need a favor and you owe me at least three." Tyler bites into his cheeseburger.

"What's the favor?"

"I need a date to Danielle's party."

"Yeah, so?" Andie bites into her cheeseburger. "Ask Allison."

"I need you to go with me." Tyler shoots.

"I'm back with Nicky."

"Yes, I know," Tyler answers sarcastically. "I'm the one who did you all those favors, including kissing Allison to help you get Nicky back. You owe me."

"I thought you got friendly with Allison after that kiss. Why can't you ask her?"

"Because Nicky's band is going to be playing at the party and you'll be there. Allison doesn't want to sit through Nicky singing you love songs."

Andie tastes a fry. "Why can't you fly solo?"

"Because, I'll look like a loser if I show up at the party alone."

"No. You won't." Andie munches another fry.

"Yes. I will. Lucas is going to be there. Lucas and Danielle will be together. I'll look like the town fool sitting by myself."

"I'll sit with you. Nicky's going to be performing anyway. I don't know about going as your date. I have to see what Nicky thinks." Andie slurps her soda through the straw.

"No way, Andie. You're doing this for me as a favor after all the shit I did for you; going out to Giorgio's, wearing that hair cap and then kissing Allison for you."

"You loved all of it, Tyler. You got free meals. I took you out to Giorgio's, which is an expensive restaurant, by the way. When you want a favor you buy me fast food." Andie emphasizes. " And kissing Allison didn't look like it was too much torture for you."

"I wasn't going to tell you this but Danielle came by my house the other day."

Andie munches on a fry. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to tell me that her and Lucas are officially back together and that she's sorry if I felt used by her because she was in love with Lucas while I was dating her."

"Ouch!"

"She didn't need to stop by. I already knew it. She called me Lucas once when we were having sex. She would close her eyes when I was banging her. I'm no idiot I knew she was pretending I was Lucas. She even told me to shut up and not talk during sex."

Andie chuckles.

Tyler puts his cheeseburger down. "You think it's funny?"

"Sorry, think of it this way, you screwed her before Lucas got to. You'll always be her first." Andie tries to offer comfort.

"After Danielle apologized to me about being in love with Lucas, I told her that I never loved her either. I told her I was in love with you when I was banging her."

"You're not, right?" Andie puts her burger down. "You're not in love with me, are you?"

"Of course not! I just said that so I didn't look pathetic."

Andie sighs.

Tyler continues. "I need you to go to the party with me to make it look authentic. Nobody knows you're dating Nick the Dick anyway."

Andie slaps Tyler's arm. "Don't call Nicky that if you want me to do you this favor."

"I'm sorry. Will you do it?"

"Yes. I'll do it but after the party I'm coming clean to everyone that I'm dating Nicky."

"How soon after the party are you going to tell everyone?"

"It's not like I'm going to make an announcement but I'm not going to hide it either."

Tyler sighs. "Okay good cuz then my plan wouldn't work if they knew you were with Nicky at the end of the night."

"I'm just saying after the party I'll be able to hold hands with Nicky in public and do stuff that we could never do before because we were hiding it." Andie explains.

"Can you wait until the next day? I just want to get through the party without looking pathetic in front of Lucas and Danielle, after that I don't care because I'm dating Allison now."

"Allison hates me." Andie laughs "Guess we'll never be able to double date."

"Guess not." Tyler agrees

Andie looks up. "Holy crap," she tells Tyler, "My father's waitin' on the line. He's not supposed to be eating this crap," Andie stuffs a fry in her mouth. She gets up and walks over to Cooper. "Dad?"

"Hey, Andie Candy." Cooper replies. "I was going to say hi to you but you were talking to Tyler."

"You're not supposed to eat this stuff, dad." Andie warns him.

"I'm not. I'm ordering for Drew. He was upset you took Noah here and not him" Cooper explains.

"Noah's a big boy." Andie shrugs "I didn't want to have to keep an eye on the little rug rat. Where is he?"

"He's getting rid of some energy in the play area while I get his food."

Andie gives Cooper a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, daddy. I'll see you at home."

"Bye, Pumpkin." Cooper carries his tray of food and sits down with Noah and Marley. Drew comes running over and grabs a fry.

"Yay fries!" Drew jumps up and down before sitting in the booth.

Cooper steals a fry from Drew's meal.

"No daddy, those are mine!" Drew yells.

"I paid for them." Cooper retorts.

Noah joins in, "Dad you're not allowed to eat this stuff. It's too greasy for you."

"I'm not eating it. I ordered a coffee." Cooper steals another fry from Drew.

"Hey!" Drew yells again.

"What are you yelling about? You have at least twenty." Cooper complains. "I took two measly little fries."

"If you take another one, I'm telling momma." Noah warns.

"Okay, okay, I'm not eating anymore fries. I just wanted a taste." Cooper looks over at Marley's meal. "Why'd you get a salad?" Cooper asks. "You don't have a cholesterol problem."

Noah answers. "She thinks that she's fat."

"What?" Cooper scoffs. "You're not fat."

Marley answers "I am compared to Lila. We used to share clothes. I can't fit into hers anymore. She's super skinny."

Cooper tells Marley. "Well, don't get into a competition of who's the skinniest. Those never end well."

"Lila's already winning by a long shot. I don't know why I'm even trying." Marley eats her lettuce sounding defeated.

Cooper lecturess, "if Lila's winning by a long shot then she must be really thin because you look skinny enough to me."

"Her neck bones stick out." Marley tells Cooper.

"It's really gross." Noah adds.

"I haven't seen her in over a month." Cooper says."I'm surprised that Aunt Violet didn't say anything. I'm Lila's pediatrician."

"She wears high neck shirts at home so her parents don't notice." Marley answers.

"Yea, she's always wearing baggy clothes so you can't see her bones." Noah bites into his cheeseburger.

"What does she eat?" Cooper asks.

"Nothing." Marley answers. "She throws her lunch away every day at school."

"That's not good. I should talk to Aunt Violet about it." Cooper sips his coffee.

"Don't tell her we told you." Noah adds. "Lila will be mad."

"Tell Aunt Violet you noticed it for yourself." Marley tells Cooper.

Cooper takes another sip of coffee. "I'll take a look at her at Danielle's party Friday night, if I think there's anything to worry about I'll mention it to Violet."

"Good idea, dad." Noah nods."

"Look, daddy! There's momma!" Drew yells out. Cooper raises his eyebrows and his eyes get wide with surprise to see Charlotte standing in line at the fast food restaurant. "Momma! Momma! Momma!" Drew yells until Charlotte turns around to look at him, well, most of the restaurant turns around to look at him too. Charlotte puts her finger over her mouth signaling for Drew to be quiet. After Charlotte orders her latte, she walks over to them.

"What are y'all doing here?" Charlotte asks.

"Having dinner." Drew answers. "We thought you were at work."

"I am. I'm on a break."

"You come here often for your breaks?" Cooper asks.

"For the latte's." Charlotte holds it up and smirks. " 'Sides, I don't have a cholesterol problem, if I wanted to order a burger I could but you can't," she tells Cooper. "Why are you here?"

"The kids wanted it so I took them out." Cooper replies. "I'm having a coffee." He holds his cup up. "See?"

Drew interrupts "Daddy stole some of my French fries, momma."

"Only two." Cooper defends.

Charlotte grins at Cooper. "We'll have to make sure we work those fries off when I get home from work."

"Come on, Momma!" Noah whines. "not in front of Marley."

"What did your mother say wrong?" Cooper asks Noah. "She just said we would have to work out. What's wrong with that?"

"We know the way you and momma work out." Noah responds.

"I don't." Drew answers. "How do you and momma work out, daddy?"

"I have to go back to work." Charlotte looks at Cooper, snickering as she walks away.

"Thanks a lot." Cooper calls after her. "I'll remember this when we're working out tonight."

Noah rolls his eyes while Drew demands Cooper explain to him how he works out with his momma.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	53. Chapter 53

_**CHAPTER 53**_

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler show up at Danielle's party together. Andie's wearing a red belly shirt with black jeans. Tyler's wearing a a jacket with a tie and jeans. They pass Chase and Tess who are on their way out the door. "Leaving so soon?" Andie asks her brother.<p>

"We've been here an hour already. We made our appearance, now we're ducking out." Chase pulls Tess along by the hand.

Andie and Tyler walk through the house. They can hear the band playing on the outdoor deck. "Is Nicky going to kick my ass when he finds out you came as my date?"

"I explained it to him. He knows I owe you big time cuz of the spying. He's good with it, as long as I meet up with him at the cottage after."

"What cottage?" Tyler asks.

"Nicky's renting the cottage behind Sheldon and Amelia's house. We're going there to celebrate."

"What are you celebrating?"

"Nicky finally cut the apron strings and got his own place."

"I should probably do that soon too." Tyler tells her.

Andie and Tyler continue to walk through the crowd. They look around. They notice Danielle dancing with Lucas, her long brown hair flowing along as she dances. "Will you look at that?" Danielle points out to Lucas. "Andie and Tyler are here together, while Nicky's singing up on the stage."

"It's warped." Lucas agrees. "Why'd your mom ask Nicky's band to play?"

"Nicky's band is the best upcoming band around and my mom always gets me the best." Danielle smirks. "Besides, my mom doesn't know that Andie and Nicky dated before they found out they were cousins."

"That's gotta suck." Lucas shakes his head. "Falling in love with someone and then finding out he's your cousin."

"Andie's tough." Danielle tells him. "She'll get through it."

"She's lucky to have a friend like you to help."

"I haven't been helping her with with it much. I've been hanging with some girls from school that were accepted into Yale. We're going to try and get in the same sorority."

"Ah, you've made sorority sisters already." Lucas laughs.

"I have and Andie looks like she's doing fine without me. She looks happy with Tyler."

Lucas answers. "That's good because Tyler's had a thing for Andie since we were little kids."

"Really?" Danielle's surprised to hear Lucas say that.

"Uh, yeah. I can't believe you didn't know that." Lucas scoffs.

"I always thought Tyler had a thing for _me_."

Lucas laughs. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Danielle answers. "I thought Tyler liked _me_."

"Why? Did you ever like him?"

"No. I've had my sight set on you since I was five."

"Yeah right!" Lucas grabs and squeezes Danielle tight while dancing. "I can't wait until you get to Yale. We're going to have so much fun together. I have so much to show you."

"I can't wait." Danielle leans in to kiss Lucas.

Charlotte and Cooper join the dance floor. "A penny for your thoughts?" Cooper notices Charlotte staring at Danielle deep in thought.

"I was just thinking about the first time I held Danielle after her birth mother abandoned her in your office."

Cooper slowly twirls Charlotte. "How come it feels like yesterday and a hundred years ago at the same time?" Cooper wonders.

Charlotte continues, "I remember, I just found out I was pregnant with Andie... I was terrified to be a mother...Didn't think I'd be any good at it."

"But holding Danielle in your arms changed your mind?" Cooper asks.

"Holdng Danielle that day made me feel different. She was this tiny little thing. She wasn't scary. I felt like I could do it."

Cooper kisses Charlotte on the top of the head. "You turned out to be the best mother in the world."

"Stop tryin' to flatter me." Charlotte laughs.

Cooper thinks back now. "I remember you telling me you were scared to death of the teenage years."

"Bite your tongue, Coop. We're not done yet." Charlotte warns Cooper. "I'm still scared of the teenage years."

"What?" Cooper whines. "I think we're doing great with the teenage years."

"We're not done." Charlotte reminds and points out Noah dancing with Marley. Cooper notices the placement of Noah's hands on Marley's backside. Charlotte smirks at Cooper."Told ya' we're not done."

Cooper decides to cut in and dance with Marley before Jolie notice's. Charlotte looks at her fourteen year old son. "Ya got caught, now you have to dance with your momma." Charlotte grabs Noah's arm.

While dancing with Marley, Cooper looks to the side to see Dylan dancing nearby with Lila. Lila's clavicle is much more prominent than usual. Her spine sticks out of her clingy black dress. He makes a mental note to talk about this to Violet.

The younger teens all break from their partners and dance together while Nicky sings *Moves Like Jagger* to the crowd. The adults stand around and watch the kids show off their moves.

Cooper comments to Violet. "Lila has gotten thin since I last saw her."

Violet shrugs. "Yeah, she's turning out to be a bean stalk like Pete; tall and lean."

Cooper furrows his brow. "She looks a little too lean if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you." Violet shrugs, smiling snidly at Cooper before walking off to find Danielle and Lucas.

Andie shakes her hips while standing next to Tyler. "You wanna dance?" She asks. "I love this song, it's probably why Nicky's singing it."

Tyler looks around for Danielle and Tyler to make sure they see him dance with Andie. "Okay, but you better make me look good."

"C'mon." Andie pulls Tyler to the dance floor. Nicky winks at Andie as he sings up on the deck/stage. After the song ends Andie gives Tyler a big hug for show.

"How sweet." Danielle comments to Lucas.

"What?" Lucas asks.

"Andie and Tyler." Danielle points. "Don't they make a sweet couple?"

"Why are you so into them tonight?" Lucas asks. "It's like you're obsessed with them."

"I am not." Danielle defends.

"Then why do you keep talking about them?" Lucas asks.

"Geez. I just said they were sweet, that's all."

"I'm not interested in anything sweet tonight. I'm interested in something hot and spicy." Lucas tells her.

"You wanna go inside for a little while? Maybe we can take a breather in my room?" Danielle asks.

"Sounds spicy. Let's go." Lucas and Danielle walk inside together.

* * *

><p>Lila and Dylan walk off the dance floor along with Noah and Marley. "What's the deal with your sister and my brother?" Marley asks Noah. "Are they dating?"<p>

Noah shrugs. "I have no idea. Andie's so secretive about everything she does. I don't know who' she's dating; Nicky or Tyler."

"Maybe she's dating them both." Lila chimes in.

"That's a little risky." Marley infers, "considering both Nicky and Tyler are here at the same party."

"Cool!" Dylan exclaims. "I like risky women. They bring the party to life."

Noah laughs. "Too bad my sister's too old for you then."

"Don't worry, Dylan. I've brought something along to bring this party to life." Lila pulls a small baggie containing several marijuana joints out of the top of her dress.

"You keep it in your bra?" Noah scowls.

"Relax, it's in a double bag. It's fine." Lila reassures them.

Dylan suggests. "Let's go smoke it down by the water where nobody can see us."

"Or smell it." Lila adds, she looks at Marley and Noah. "You up for this?"

Noah and Marley look at each other in agreement. "Why not?" Marley shrugs. Marley and Noah follow Dylan and Lila down to the water.

Lila lights up first. "This is how you do it." She takes a drag of the joint and passes is to Dylan. Dylan does the same and passes it to Marley. Marley coughs the first time but tries again before passing it to Noah. "Not bad." Noah nods and passes the joint back to Lila.

"Let's sit and put our feet in the water." Lila sugests. The group pull off their shoes and stretch their legs so their feet are touching the water while they pass the joint around. Noah feels a light tap on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Drew asks.

Noah looks up. "Go back to the party, Squirt. I'm hanging with the big kids tonight."

"What's that stink?" Five year old Sara asks.

"It's the ocean." Dylan tells his little sister, while trying to hide the joint behind his back.

"The ocean doesn't smell like that!" Drew exclaims. "It really stinks bad! Yuck!" Drew and Sara pinch their noses closed.

Noah has an idea. "It's the smell of the sea monsters. That smell is the rotten leaves that the sea monsters are covered in. It means the sea monsters are approaching the shore. You better get out of here quick."

"What about you guys?" Drew asks. "Why are you staying?"

Dylan tries to contain his laugh. "The sea monsters only go after small people. We're too big to fit in their mouths, but you and Sara are about the right size. You would make the perfect sized meal for the sea monsters."

"Look!" Lila exclaims. "Here they come now!" She points out to the ocean.

Drew and Sara run back to the party as fast as they can. The four young teens roll in the sand laughing before passing the joint around again.

* * *

><p>Charlotte sits down next to Cooper. "Didn't I see Dylan here earlier?"<p>

"Yep." Cooper nods. "He was dancing with Lila.. I don't know where they went now." Cooper looks around.

"I'm glad Amelia came to her senses and let him come to the party. He needs this. He needs to get out and have fun with his friends."

"Uhm...hmm." Cooper nods his head in agreement, while sipping a beer.

"What are ya' thinkin' about, Coop?"

"I don't know." Cooper sighs. "Did you see Lila tonight?"

"Briefly." Charlotte answers. "Why?"

"I'm worried about Lila. She looks anorexic to me." Cooper speaks slightly above a whisper.

"You need to talk to Violet."

"I tried, but she brushed me off." Cooper takes a sip of his beer.

"Here she comes." Charlotte gestures to Violet walking towards them. "Try again."

"Violet!" Cooper waves his friend over.

"Hey Coop. Hey Charlotte." Violet smiles. "It's a beautiful night for this party. Addison got lucky with the weather tonight."

Charlotte nods. "Yes, she did." Charlotte nudges Cooper to talk.

Cooper starts. "I was watching Lila dance with Dylan earlier...-"

Violet interrrupts. "Didn't they look great? I'm so glad Amelia let Dylan come to the party."

Charlotte adds. "I was just telling Cooper the same thing."

Cooper starts again."How's everything going at home, Vi?" Cooper asks.

"Great." Violet sips her cocktail and asks Cooper, "how are you guys doing? I can't even tell you had major heart surgery four months ago."

"We're doing good." Cooper nods. He lowers his voice "Listen Vi. I want to talk to you about Lila."

"Did she do something wrong?" Violet asks.

"No, nothing like that. I'm concerned that she's lost some weight since the last time I saw her."

"Oh don't worry about that." Violet waves her arm. "She had the stomach flu recently and lost about twelve pounds."

"That's a lot of weight to lose from the flu, Vi."

"Well, it kept coming and going and coming back. " Violet nods and smiles. "I got this, Coop. You don't need to worry about my kid. You have enough of your own."

"Aint that the truth." Charlotte smirks.

Violet gets up. "I'm sorry but I need to find my son. I'm not letting Lucas leave this party without dancing with his dear old mother." Violets smacks her lips into a smile and walks away.

* * *

><p>Chase opens the door to the empty Freedman house. Tess walks inside first. "I hope nobody else decided to leave the party early and come home." Tess tells him.<p>

"They won't. Andie just got there. Noah and Drew are stuck with my parents driving them home. Lucky for us my dad likes to always be one of the last to leave every party we go to."

"Your dad's a social butterfly." Tess laughs. They walk up the steps and towards Chase's bedroom.

Tess leans in to kiss Chase. He hesitates "Are you sure it isn't too soon to do this. I can wait."

"I'm ready. I'm in better shape than your momma was because I wasn't awake for it. The guy knocked me out. It's gotta be worse when you're awake and aware of what he's doing to you."

"What do you mean you're in better shape than my momma was?"

Tess swallows. "Did I say that?"

Chase nods. "Yes, you did. Now tell me what you meant. How were you in better shape than my momma because the guy knocked you unconscious?"

"I can't tell you. I shouldn't have let that slip out." Tess looks down at the floor feeling terrible for blowing a secret Charlotte's kept a very long time.

"My momma was raped, wasn't she? She told you that she was raped?" Chase searches Tess's eyes.

Tess continues to look at the floor.

"Does my dad know about it?" Chase asks.

"Course, he does."

"Why didn't she tell me and Andie?" Chase asks.

"It's a very private and personal thing. I don't want anyone to know what happened to me, just you, your parents and my parents know about it. Nobody else needs to know. I don't see any reason to tell our children if we have some, one day."

Chase lifts her chin up so she's looking him in the eyes. "You want to have children with me?"

"Someday, I do."

"i can't believe that happened to my momma." Chase asks Tess. "Did she say when. I mean how long ago?"

"It was before your parents were married so it was a long time ago. She only told me to help me. I was going to make the same mistakes she did."

"What kind of mistakes?" Chase asks.

"I didn't want to tell you. She didn't want to tell your dad either. Your momma said it was only after your dad found out that she was able to heal. It's a pretty big secret to keep."

"I'm glad my momma could help you. I feel so bad for her."

"Don't Chase!" Tess warns him. "That's exactly why she didn't want you to know. She's a trong woman, she doesn't want to be pitied and neither do I. We just want to be treated like normal. It doesn't change who we are or define our lives."

Chase nods. "Okay, I get it."

"I just want everything to be the same for us as it was before the attack. Can you help me with that?" Tess asks.

Chase nods and kisses her. Tess pulls off her shirt and then his.

Chase backs off. 'I want to help you but I don't know if I can do this."

"Why?" Tess asks. "I'm fine. I told you I need this."

"I keep thinking about my momma. You said she awake through her rape. It must have been terrifying for her."

Tess cups his face in her hands. "Your momma's a survivor. She's okay, she's great. Your momma's helping other survivors, like me. Don't worry about your momma."

Tess kisses his lip gently. "I need you to help me. Can you help me to move forward?" She kisses him and he kisses back this time before they start to shed the rest of their clothes.

* * *

><p>Danielle and Lucas walk out of the house together.<p>

"There you are!" Violet tells Lucas. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Why?" Lucas asks.

"We haven't danced yet. I want to dance with my only son."

"When the music comes back on I promise you the first dance, mom. Right now it looks like Danielle's mother wants to say something." Lucas gestures to Addison making her way up to the makeshift stage.

Addison gets up on the stage/deck. "Good evening!" Addison announces. "I hope you're all having a good time." She looks around the crowd. "At this time I'd like to give a toast to my lovely daughter Danielle who will be leaving for college in a few short months."Addison looks at Danielle."I'll make this short and hopefully not to gooey. I just want to say I'm proud of the young woman you've grown up to be. It gave me so much joy to watch you grow. I'm going to miss you terribly while you're at Yale." Addison starts to get teary. "This is what I didn't want to do." Addison wipes a tear and composes herself. "Danielle Montgomery, I'm proud of you and I'm proud to be your momma." The crowd claps. Danielle hugs Addison. "I'll just be a phone call away mom. Don't cry."

"Okay, okay." Addison agrees before announcing: "The cake is ready to be served!"

Andie hugs Danielle. "Congratulations. I'll miss my BFF."

Danielle shakes her head. "Like I told my mom, I'm only a phone call away."

"Yeah right." Andie shrugs.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Andie shrugs again.

"It's something." Danielle pulls Andie to the side. "Tell me what's wrong."

Andie takes a deep breath and lets it out. "We hardly talk anymore since you got your acceptance letter. I'm supposed to believe you'll call me when you get to Yale?"

"Are you jealous that I got accepted into Yale?" Danielle asks.

"Hell no!" Danielle scowls. "Why would I be jealous? I'm a junior. I haven't even applied to college yet."

"Then why are you jealous?" Danielle asks.

"I'm not jealous but you're never around anymore. You're always hanging out with those other senior girls from our school that got into Yale."

Danielle shrugs. "I want to get to know them so I have some friends besides Lucas when I'm there. That's all. You should make new firends too Andie while I'm gone"

"I don't need to make new friends. I have Tyler and..." Andie stops herself before saying Nicky's name.

"It' not a bad thing to have more that one friend, Andie. You should try it."

Andie ignores Danielle's last statement. "Why don't ever call or text me anymore?" Andie asks.

"You don't call or text me either." Danielle points out. "You're always with Tyler. I can't believe you guys are dating again." Danielle scoffs.

Andie just shrugs. She promised Tyler she'd pretend to be his date tonight.

Danielle asks. "I guess that means you're over Nicky?"

"I guess." Andie says quietly. She wants to tell Danielle the truth; that she's madly in love with Nicky but she can't, not tonight anyway. Damn promises.

"It's a shame." Danielle says as she watches Nicky sing and move around the makeshift stage. "He's a catch; hot _and_ adorable."

"He is." Andie watches Nicky on the stage.

Danielle's jaw drops open. "You're not over him. You're still in love with him."

Andie doesn't answer.

"I'm sorry." Danielle tells her. "It must really suck. You can't be with the guy you love, so you have to settle." Danielle tells Andie. "I don't envy you about that."

Andie shakes her head. "It's not that bad."

"Well, if you wanna talk or even a shoulder to cry on. I'm here for you anytime and when I go to Yale,text me,you hear?"

Andie shakes her head. Tyler walks over to Andie and puts his arm around her waist. He gives her a kiss on the cheek to play it up in front of Danielle. Andie just smiles.

"Congratulations on getting into Yale." Tyler shakes Danielle's hand.

"Thanks. I better go find Lucas." Danielle walks off. "Remember, call me." Danielle tells Andie as she walks away.

"What did you tell her?" Tyler asks.

"Nothing. I let her do all the talking." Andie shrugs.

"So, she thinks we're dating?"

"She does." Andie sighs. "I don't like lying to Danielle."

"Relax, it's just for tonight." Tyler tells her. "And besides, you owe me big time for helping you get Nicky back."

"Come on." Andie drags Tyler along. "Let's go have some cake so we can get out of here."

* * *

><p>Cooper looks around for the younger group of teens. "Did anyone see Noah and Marley?"<p>

"They're down by the water with the sea monsters." Drew points.

"The who?" Charlotte chuckles.

"The sea monsters are coming to shore. That's why we had to come back." Sara explains.

"But won't the sea monsters get Noah and Marley?" Cooper asks the five year olds, joking.

"No!" Drew tells him. "Everybody knows that Noah and Marley are too big to fit in the sea monsters' mouths. They only eat little kids and babies."

"Yeah, everyone knows that!" Sara puts her hands on her hips and tells Cooper.

"Let me guess Noah and Marley told you that story about the sea monsters?" Charlotte inquires.

"And Dylan and Lila told us it too." Sara answers still with her hands on her hips.

"A little advice." Charlotte looks at the youngsters. "Don't believe everything they tell you. There are no such things as sea monsters."

Cooper tousles both Sara and Drew's hair. "You've been hood winked."

"What's hood winked?" Drew asks.

"Tricked." Charlotte answers. "The older kids were playing a trick on you."

Drew pouts and folds his arms. "Those jerks!"

Charlotte looks at her younger son. "I don't want to hear that word come out of your five year old mouth again. You hear?"

"Yes ma'am." Drew and Sara stomp away pouting.

Pete and Cooper walk towards the water and call out for the young teens.

Lila, Dylan, Marley and Noah walk back to the party looking a little spacey and a little guilty about something. "Come on, cake." Pete tells them.

The caterer passes out plates of cake. Lila pushes the plate away." I don't want any." It doesn't get by Cooper and Violet. "Why aren't you having cake, Lila?" Violet asks.

"I'm not hungry." The mini version of Violet tells her.

"I want you to have a piece." Violet tells her daughter.

"Why?"

"The virus left you too thin. You need to eat."

"I don't like red velvet cake." Lila scowls.

"We have brownies too." Addison walks by and tells her. "And cream puffs if anyone's interested."

"You love cream puffs." Violet tells Lila. "They've always been your favorite."

"I told you, I'm not hungry." Lila folds her arms and pouts.

"I want you to eat one." Violet insists.

"No!" Lila shoots. "I'm not hungry and that's final. Leave me alone."

"Lila!" Violet says firmly.

"That's enough, Violet," Pete sticks a cream puff in his mouth. "I just ate a cream puff for her. Are you happy?"

"I didn't want _you_ to eat one. I want Lila to eat one." Violet answers.

"Well, it's not happening tonight. We'll talk about it later." Pete tells Violet firmly.

Cooper and Charlotte eat their cake and listen.

"P. U.! There's that smell again!" Drew yells out.

"You must have let one rip." Noah laughs at his little brother.

"No, I didn't" Drew pinches his nose closed. "It smells like the sea monster smell."

Charlotte looks at Drew. "I already told you, there are no such things as seas monsters. They were tricking you...-"

Sara interrupts. "But it's the same smell we smelled when the sea monsters were swimming to shore."

Charlotte looks at Cooper and rolls her eyes.

Violet licks the cake off her fork. "Drew's right. I smell something funky too."

Pete sniffs the air and nods. "It smells like someone's smoking marijuana."

Everyone gets quiet and look around at each other.

"It must be one of the neighbors." Dylan suggests.

Marley whispers to Noah. "How can they smell it? I have it in a baggie in my pocket. It shouldn't smell."

Noah whispers back "The smell is on our clothes from when we were smoking by the water, like secondary smoke. Lila must reek the most."

"I want to go home with your family." Marley tells Noah. "I don't want to drive home with my mother. If she smells weed on my clothes, she'll kill me."

Noah suggests, "Let's see if we can get Andie and Tyler to give us a ride home. I don't want my parents to smell it on us either."

"Good idea." Marley walks up to her big brother. "Can you give me and Noah a ride home?"

"Sure." Tyler answers. "I have to drop Andie off so I'm going to Noah's house anyway."

"Great." Marley answers." We're ready to leave now."

"I'm good with leaving now." Andie tells Tyler. "I've got to get ready for my date with Nicky tonight."

Marley and Noah sit in the back seat snuggled up close together while Tyler drives them home. "Why does it smell like weed in my car?" Tyler asks Andie.

"Don't look at me." Andie holds her hands up. "Look at the people in the back seat because that's where the scent is coming from."

"It wasn't us. I swear." Marley tells them. "It was Lila. Lila and Dylan were smoking it by the beach."

"Calm down, kid." Andie tells her. "We're not your parents. Don't have a heart attack."

"I wouldn't try it if I were you." Tyler tells the younger teens. "They call it a gateway drug."

"Why do they call it that?" Noah asks.

"It's how most drugatics start, then they want more of a high and move to the harder stuff. That really messes with your mind." Tyler explains.

"Did you ever try it?" Marley asks her big brother.

"Nope. I was too afraid of what mom would do to me if she ever found out." Tyler answers.

"How about you Andie?" Noah asks his sister.

"I tried it once but it made me barf. The smell makes me nauseous, still to this day." Andie tells them. "I'm gagging right now just sitting in the car with you guys."

"It's not worth it. Don't even think about trying it." Tyler lectures the younger teens.

Noah and Marley look at each other not sure what to do about the joint Marley has hidden in a little baggy in her pocket.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	54. Chapter 54

_**CHAPTER 54**_

* * *

><p>Andie packs herself a small bag and drives to Nicky's cottage behind Sheldon and Amelia's house. He's not home from Danielle's party yet. Andie changes into a blue satin negligee. She waits, watching TV until she finally hears Nicky come in the door.<p>

"Hey, look at you."Nicky smiles, but looks exhausted. "Sorry it took me so long, we had to pack up all the equipment and bring it back to Giorgio's for Wednesday night."

"No problem. You look tired. Do you want a massage?" Andie gets up to give him a hello kiss.

Nicky gives her a quick kiss on the lips. "I need a shower first before you put your hands on me. I'm all sweaty and smelly." Nicky pads into the bathroom. Andie sits down on the bed. She gets an idea when she hears him turn the water on. She slips out of her negligee and sneaks in the unlocked bathroom door. The bathroom is already starting to steam up. She smiles when she hears Nicky singing in the shower.

"Is this where you practice?" She pulls open the shower curtain and steps inside. "You're pretty damn good."

"Wow. I wasn't expecting this." Nicky watches Andie step into the shower to join him.

"I'll wash your hair." She whispers in his ear.

"Okay." He sits down on the ledge of the shower where he keeps his shampoo so she can reach his head. He hands her the shampoo bottle.

"Mmmm, smells good." She inhales the coconut smell of the shampoo while Nicky takes the initiative to soap up her breasts. She rinses his hair before she takes the soap from him and completely soaps his body up. When she's satisfied with her job, she presses herself against him and slides up and down his body. He grabs her buttocks and lifts her up against him. Andie wraps her legs around his waist.

Nicky laughs. "Hold on. My feet are slipping."

"Me too," Andie chuckles nervously before sliding her back down the shower wall so she doesn't hit the ground hard. Nicky falls on top of her as they land on the shower floor.

"Are you okay?" Nicky asks.

'I'm fine." Andie breaks out in laughter. Nicky can't help but laugh along with her. The shower water runs over them as they lay on the floor of the shower. Nicky kisses her and slides himself over her soapy body. "I never did it in the shower before," he tells her

"First time for everything." Andie wiggles her hips into place with his. He slides into her.

He groans as he pumps in and out of her. Andie holds on to him tight as her body slides along the shower floor. "Harder Nicky! Harder!" She yelps as her body thrums in pleasure. They reach their climax.

"That was a nice surprise." Nicky lets his body relax on top of Andie's.

"I thought you would like it." She tousles his wet hair.

"Now I have a surprise for you. C'mon." Nicky helps Andie get up from the shower floor and hands her a towel.

"What?" Andie wraps the towel around her body and follows Nicky into the bedroom. She sits on the bed and watches him walk to his dresser and open the top drawer. He pulls out a silver box and hands it to her.

Andie opens the box. She pulls out a sterling silver ring. It's split in the center with a heart on each end. One heart has a diamond stone and the other a blue topaz. "I love it." She tells him.

He points out, "the blue topaz is my birthstone, December, and the diamond is your birthstone, April. It means we're meant to be together. I had it customized for you."

"I love it." She leans up to kiss him.

"It's a promissory ring, Belle. Do you know what that means?"

"'Like an engagement ring?" Andie asks.

"Sort of. It means we promise to commit to each other. I can't afford a proper engagement ring yet and you're parents would never go for it anyway."

"I love this ring." She kisses it.

Nicky puts it on her ring finger. "I love you, Belle."

"I love you too. I'm never taking this ring off." Andie admires her ring finger.

Nicky lights up a cigarette and lies down on the bed. Andie rests her head on his chest with her hand alongside it. She stares her new ring. "I'm so happy I didn't listen to everyone. I'm so happy we're back together." Andie kisses Nicky's chest. He rubs her back, they lie still until they both fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Cooper wakes up and turns over in bed. He reaches for Charlotte but her side of the bed is empty. "Char?" He calls out in the dark. He flicks the bedside lamp on before rubbing his eyes, "Char? Where are you?" He gets out of bed and checks the bathroom. She's not there. He pulls his robe on and ventures downstairs. "Char, it's two am. Aren't you coming to bed tonight?"<p>

Charlotte looks up from the book she's reading on the couch. "Not until Andie's home."

"It's two am, you mean to tell me Andie's not home yet?" Cooper cocks his head to the side.

"Nope."

"Did you call her phone?"

"I left three voice mails."

Cooper scratches his head. "But she left the party before us."

Charlotte nods. "I know. The boys have all been home for hours already. They're all asleep."

"I'm calling Tyler." Cooper says. "She went to the party with him. I want to know where she is." Cooper picks up his phone and scrolls through it for Tyler's number.

Tyler answers after the fourth ring. "Yeah?" He says in a sleepy voice.

"Sorry, I woke you." Cooper explains. "This is Cooper Freedman. I'm looking for Andie."

"She's not here." Tyler stretches, yawning into the phone.

"You left the party with her. Where is she?"

"I dropped her off at your house around ten pm last night." Tyler tells him.

Cooper looks out the window at the driveway. "Her car's not here. Where would she go, Tyler?"

"I can take a guess but Andie will kill me tomorrow if I tell you."

"Her mother and I are worried sick. Tell me where she is or I'll come over there and kill you tonight." Cooper warns Tyler.

"Calm down Dr. Freedman. I'm pretty sure she's at Nicky's."

"Why would she need to take her car to go next door?" Cooper furrows his brow.

"Nicky doesn't live next door anymore. He's renting Sheldon and Amelia's cottage, behind their house." Tyler tells him.

"Oh...Thank you, Tyler, you've been very helpful." Cooper hangs up and tells Charlotte. "Tyler thinks she's at Nicky's."

"Next door?" Charlotte asks. "But her car is gone."

"Nicky's renting the cottage behind Sheldon and Amelia's house." Cooper tells her.

"Since when?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know but I'm driving over there." Cooper heads upstairs to get his clothes.

"I'll go with you."

"What about the boys?"

"I'll wake Chase and tell him we're going out. The boys are sleeping anyhow."

"I'll get dressed and meet you in the car."

Cooper and Charlotte drive ten miles to Sheldon and Amelia's house. They pull in the driveway and spot Andie's car parked near the cottage in the back.

"At least we know she's safe." Cooper puts the car in reverse and starts to back out of the driveway.

"Wait Cooper! We drove all the way here, I want to make sure she's okay before we leave." Charlotte explains. "Andie's curfew is midnight on the weekends, she's never broke it before plus she hasn't answered her phone."

Cooper scoffs. "What do you want to do, Charlotte? Should we knock on the door and say '_Come home with your momma and daddy,' _while she's screwing her twenty one year old boyfriend,who also happens to be her biological cousin? Huh Charlotte?" Cooper's clearly frustrated about the situation.

"Why are you yelling at me? I'm not the enemy Cooper."

"I don't know what to do." Cooper rubs his head nervously. "You're afraid of being a bad mother, well right now, I feel like a bad father. I screwed this up."

"Why? This isn't your fault."

"Andie's in love with _my_ biological sister's son, not yours."

"You can't possibly blame yourself for that."

Cooper rubs his hand through his hair. He tells Charlotte with tears in her eyes. "I told Andie it was okay to see Nicky. I just want Andie to be happy, Chief. I just want all of them to be happy, but this isn't right." He rubs his hand through his hair again. "I don't know what to do. What's the right thing?"

Charlotte rubs Cooper's arm for comfort. "Right now, I just want to know our baby girl is safe. After what happened to Tess, I worry about Andie. I won't rest tonight until I know she's safe in that cottage."

Cooper sighs a deep breath. "So, we knock on the door and embarrass her in front of her boyfriend, knowing that she'll never speak to us again?" Cooper wrinkles up his nose, questioning Charlotte. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm not saying we have to knock on the door. The windows are low. We can peek inside. Once I see she's safe. We can go." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Okay" Cooper rolls his eyes at this plan but grabs the flashlight out of the trunk of his car anyway. They start by shining the flashlight in the front window first.

"That looks like the kitchen." Charlotte peers in the window.

They move to the next window. Cooper shines the light in. "It looks like the living room. I can make out a couch and the TV is on."

"Let's try the back of the house." Charlotte suggests. Cooper shines the light in the window. "Oh God!" He says.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asks. "Is Andie okay?" Charlotte grabs the flashlight from Cooper and spies in the window. "Oh good." She says. "They're sleeping." Charlotte sighs. "She's safe."

"With _no clothes on!" _Cooper emphasizes.

"What did you expect her to be doing at his cottage in the middle of the night, Coop?"

Cooper leans up against the back of the house. He slowly utters out the words. "I…did…not …need …to …see…that."

Charlotte leans up against the house next to him. Sheldon's husky dog runs outside and starts barking at them. "GRRRR...Woof... Woof... Woof... GRRRR!" The dog growls at them.

"It's okay Joe-Joe. We're not trespassers." Cooper explains.

"Woof!... Woof!...Woof!..." The dog barks louder trying to alert his owner of the trespassers.

"Quiet Joe-Joe!" Charlotte commands the dog.

The dog continues to bark. "Woof!... Woof!... Woof!..." The dog has them cornered now.

"Do you have a steak?" Cooper jokes.

"Course not! You're good with dogs. Get him to stop barking so we can get out of here."

"Joe-Joe?" Sheldon comes outside and follows the barking. "What's wrong, boy?"

"AROOOoooo!" Joe-Joe howls for Sheldon.

Sheldon shines his flashlight on Charlotte and Cooper. "Charlotte? Cooper?" Sheldon rubs his eyes. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night?"

The dog quiets down and runs to Sheldon. Sheldon pats Joe-Joe on the head. "Good boy."

"Checking on Andie. She's in there." Cooper holds up his flashlight.

"You were spying in the window on them?" Sheldon furrows his brow.

Cooper looks at him."When Sara's seventeen you'll be doing the same thing."

Sheldon grumbles. "I think not. Now get out of here so I can go back to sleep. We'll discuss this in the morning." Sheldon tells them. Charlotte and Cooper walk briskly to their car.

Andie shakes Nicky awake. "Nicky. I think there's someone outside. Joe-Joe's barking and I thought I saw a flashlight shining in the window." Andie tells Nicky.

"Shhh.. quiet." Nicky listens. "I hear footsteps outside." Nicky gets up and puts his robe on.

"Where are you going?" Andie asks.

"Stay here, I want to see who's out there." Nicky looks out the window. He see's Sheldon walking back to his house with his flashlight and Jo-Jo the dog. Nicky comes back to bed.

"Who was it?" Andie asks.

"We need to put some blinds up tomorrow." Nicky gets back in bed and pulls the sheet up, covering the both of them.

"Why? Who was out there?"

"Turns out Sheldon's a peeping Tom. I saw him walking back to his house from our cottage with a flashlight."

"Why would he be looking in our windows at…-" Andie looks at the clock,…"three am."

"It's a sickness. That's what peeping Tom's do. They say shrinks are the craziest people of all. It doesn't surprise me." Nicky tells her.

"Oh crap!" Andie looks at the clock again. "It's three am. My parents are going to kill me." She checks her phone. "There are three voice mails from my momma" Andie jumps up to get dressed.

"I'll follow you home to make sure you get there. I don't want you getting a flat or something at three am." Nicky quickly gets dressed.

"I love you." Andie tells him, looking at her new ring. They get dressed for the drive back to Andie's house.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	55. Chapter 55

_**CHAPTER 55**_

* * *

><p>It's Saturday afternoon, Andie's still sleeping. Cooper sends Drew into her room to wake her up.<p>

"Wake up, Andie Candy!" The five and a half year old jumps on her bed.

"Get out of here, Squirt. I'm trying to sleep." She pulls the covers over her head.

"You have to wake up! Daddy said you have to take me to the park." Drew bounces on her bed.

"Get someone else to take you."

"Nobody else is home but you and daddy."

Cooper pokes his head in the room. "It's almost two in the afternoon, Andie. You can't sleep all day. Get up and take your brother to the park."

"He's your kid, you take him." Andie calls out from under the covers.

"Maybe if you didn't get home at almost four in the morning, you wouldn't be so tired." Cooper insists. "You're lucky I'm letting you out of the house. You were supposed to be home by midnight."

"If I take the rug rat to the park will you lift my punishment? I have plans tonight."

"What are your plans?"

"I'm going to the movies."

"With who?" Cooper asks as if he doesn't know.

"With Chase, Tess and Nicky."

"Chase and Tess are going? What is it a double date?"

"Aha."

Cooper lectures. "I know Chase will be home by curfew, you better be too or you're grounded for the rest of your life."

"Yes, daddy."

"Get out of bed. Take your brother to the park and then I'll think about letting you go out tonight."

"Thanks, daddy."_ Andie already knows her daddy is so going to let her go out tonight._

* * *

><p>Lila answers the door for Marley and Noah. "Come in." The frail thirteen year old invites her friends in. "Dylan's already here." Lila leads them to Dylan who's in the kitchen eating brownies that Addison sent home from the party.<p>

"I'm stuffed." Dylan tells Lila. "I ate four of them. I can't eat anymore."

"Wow, you ate four brownies?" Marley ask her thin brother.

"He needed to." Lila answers "He's going in the hospital for chemo on Monday so he needs to bulk up now."

Dyan shoots back. "No! I ate them as a favor for you."

"How were you doing Lila a favor by eating brownies?" Marley asks.

"So her mother will think _she_ ate them." Dylan answers.

"Oh I see." Marley thinks. "I guess it can't hurt dad always says you should eat a lot before your chemo since it kills your appetite."

"See!" Lila says "It was more for you, not me.

"Here." Lila hands Marley and Noah each a brownie. "You guys look like you could use one."

"Aren't you going to have one?" Noah asks.

"I already had some." Lila lies. "I'm full."

Noah and Marley eat their brownies. "These are good." Noah munches away.

"Have some more." Lila gives him another one.

Violet comes in the kitchen. "I'm glad you're all enjoying the brownie. I'll have to make them if you like them so much, Lila."

"Thanks, mom." Lila rolls her eyes to her friends.

"I have to go see a patient at the hospital, I'll be home in a little while." Violet leaves.

"Bye, Dr. Turner. " Noah and Marley say in unison.

After Violet's car pulls away Dylan asks. "Did you guys smoke the joint yet?"

"No." Noah answers. "My sister and Tyler sort of talked us out of it last night. They said it was a gateway drug." Noah tells Dylan.

"Just smoke it." Lila tells them. "You can't let it a good joint go to waste."

Marley pulls the bag out of her pocket. Lila takes the bag and pulls the joint out. She passes it to Dylan. "You in?" She asks him.

"I'm in." He puffs the joint and and passes it back to Marley. 'You gonna try it?" He asks his half sister."

Marley nods and he passes her the joint. She takes a puff. "You want some?" She asks Noah.

Noah looks around at his three friends. "I guess." He says and takes the joint fro Marley.

* * *

><p>Chase knocks on the door at Tess's house "What's going on?"<p>

"The DA's office wants me to come in Monday morning to talk to them about the trial." Tess tells him.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"You'll have to miss your morning classes."

"I'm good with it." Chase nods.

Tess tells him "You'll ruin your perfect attendance record."

Chase shrugs. "Big deal. I already have three perfect attendance certificates. Who needs more paper?"

"You'll have to get your momma to email the principal."

"She'll do it. This is more important than my trig and biology classes."

"Thanks." Tess smiles.

"So, how are you feeling after last night? It wasn't too soon was it?"

"I'm great. Do you want to do help me make some more good memories?"

"Where?"

"How about here?" Tess smiles.

"I'm afraid of your mother. She'll kill me if she catches us in your room."

"My mom just left for the gym. We have about two hours before she gets back."

"Let's go then." Chase heads up the stairs with Tess.

* * *

><p>Violet comes home in the evening after seeing patients at the hospital. "You guys are all still here?" She looks at the group of teens sprawled around her living room. Noah's asleep on the couch while Marley's asleep in a chair. Dylan's relaxing on the floor watching TV.<p>

"We're still here." Dylan calls back to her.

"You all look wiped out." Violet tells them.

"They're just tired from Danielle's party last night." Lila tells Violet.

"It smells good in here." Violet sniffs the air.

"I was cleaning. I figured since you and dad had to work I'd help you out." Lila lies. She sprayed air freshener and lit scented candles to get rid of the marijuana smell.

"So, you cleaned the house while your friends were all relaxing and watching TV?"

"Yep." Lila lies.

Violet hugs her thirteen year old daughter. " Thanks kid. How did I get so lucky?"

* * *

><p>Andie's waiting on line with Tess to buy some popcorn at the movie concession stand. She hears a familiar voice behind her.<p>

"Andie!" Danielle calls out "What are you doing here?"

Andie chuckles "Seeing a movie."

Danielle asks. "Is Tyler here?"

"Nope."

"Who are you here with?" Danielle asks.

"My brother and Tess." Andie gestures to Tess standing next to her. "...And Nicky."

"Nicky?"

"Yep." Andie nods holding up her new ring to show Danielle.

"What about Tyler?"

"Tyler's seeing some girl Allison from UCLA."

"Why did he bring _you _to my party then and not this new girl. Allison?" Danielle asks.

"I asked him." Andie lies. "Nicky was playing in the band and I needed a date."

"Nicky?" Danielle questions. "Are you with Nicky again?"

"Yep, he gave me this ring." Andie holds up her left hand, wiggling her ring finger.

"It's pretty." Danielle stares at the sterling silver ring split in the middle with a diamond heart on each side. "Why did he give it to you? It's not your birthday."

"It's a promissory ring." Andie runs her finger along the ring. "See, it has Nicky's birthstone and mine in hearts."

"So, you guys are serious?" Danielle asks.

"Very serious." Andie replies.

"But he's your cousin. I thought your parents wouldn't allow you to see him?"

"He's only my cousin by blood, no other way." Andie smiles and tells Danielle. "I talked to my dad about it and he agrees with me."

"You're kidding me?" Danielle wrinkles her brow.

"No, really...my dad's good with it." Andie tells her before ordering her popcorn.

Danielle shrugs."Well then I'm happy for you."

"Who are you here with?" Andie looks around. "Is Lucas here?"

"No. Lucas had to catch a plane back to Connecticut this morning. He has classes on Monday, so I'm here with the girls."

"Enjoy the movie." Andie tells Danielle before walking with Tess back towards the movie theater where Chase and Nicky are waiting for them.

"What girls did she come here with?" Tess asks.

"Gotta be Brittany and Amanda. They got accepted in Yale. Who else?" Andie shrugs.

"I hate Brittany and Amanda, they're stuck up and fake." Tess comments.

Andie pops some popcorn in her mouth and tells. Tess, "_that's _the reason why I haven't been hanging out with Danielle this year. I can't deal with Brittany and Amanda. The three of them have been stuck like glue since they all found out they were accepted into Yale."

"We should call them the the three snooties."

"Yep." Andie nods. "The three snooties is right."

"I don't think you should have told Danielle about Nicky giving you that ring." Tess walks with Andie up the theater steps to their seats.

"Why?"

"She'll probably tell the snooties."

Andie finds her seat next to Nicky. "Let her tell them. I'm not hiding Nicky." She hands Nicky the popcorn and sits down next to him.

"Hmm." Tess hands Chase his M&M's and sits down between him and Andie.

Danielle walks up the theater steps with her popcorn and soda. She smiles and waves at Andie as she passes. She takes her seat next to Brittany and Amanda two rows behind. Danielle whispers and points. Brittany and Amanda gawk at Andie and Nicky from behind.

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks in the door. Cooper greets her with a martini. "How was your day?"<p>

Charlotte takes the drink. "Better now." She tosses her purse on the table and sits on the couch sipping her martini."Where are the kids?" Charlotte asks.

"I put Drew to bed a half hour ago. Noah's in his room skyping with Marley." Cooper sips his martini. "And Chase and Andie are at the movies."

"Back up a second. _Where_ is Andie?"

_Cooper knows he's in trouble now, _He sips his martini and says quickly, "Andie's at the movies."

Charlotte clenches her jaw tight and glares at him.

He defends, "I know...I know...I know... we agreed we were going to ground her this weekend but she went with Chase."

Charlotte raises her brows and questions. "She went with to the movies with her brother?"

"Yes." Cooper nods. "And, I don't have to tell you that Chase is dependable. He'll make sure their home before curfew."

Charlotte maintains her calm. "She went to the movie with Chase and who else?"

Cooper responds. "She went to the movies with Chase and Tess."

Charlotte glares at him. "And who else?"

Cooper swallows and looks down. "And Nicky."

"Cooper!"

"What?" Cooper stares at his martini and stirs it with his finger.

"We agreed to ground her this weekend for breaking curfew." Charlotte stands up and paces the room. "Now what incentive does she have to follow the rules, Cooper?" Charlotte answers her own question. "None! She has none!"

"Andie won't break curfew again." Cooper looks at Charlotte and then back down at his martini.

"How do you know that?" Charlotte demands.

"I talked with her. I made her take Drew to the park." Cooper answers.

"That's her punishment? Going to the park?" Charlotte stares in disbelief.

"You forgot the part about taking Drew." Cooper nods his head. "That could be punishment for anyone."

Charlotte glares at him. "First of all, you shouldn't be talking about _your_ son like that...-"

Cooper interrupts. "I was kidding." He thinks about it. "Well, kinda kidding." He chuckles and sips his martini.

Charlotte wrinkles her brow and asks, "Is this a joke to you, Cooper?"

"No. It's not a joke." Cooper answers seriously.

"Then, why do you think it's okay for your seventeen year old daughter to come home at almost four in the morning from her twenty-one year old boyfriend's house?"

"You gave her the pill, Charlotte." Cooper says. "That pretty much gave her free reign to screw."

"Would you rather she be seventeen and pregnant?"

"Of course not." Cooper responds.

"Just because she's on the pill doesn't mean she should be spendin' the night at her boyfriend's place. She's seventeen, Cooper." Charlotte insists. "She's still in high school. She belongs home with her family at night, not at Nicky's."

Cooper nods."I agree with you."

"Then why didn't you stick with the punishment? Charlotte asks. "Why is she back out with Nicky tonight?"

"Charlotte, she would find a way to see Nicky this weekend one way or another. If I didn't give her permission she'd climb out the window to meet him somewhere."

"So, you're just giving up on her?" Charlotte puts her hands on her hips. "She's allowed to do whatever she wants? Andie makes the rules around here?"

"I'd rather know where she is and what she's doing than have her sneak around behind our backs." Cooper defends.

Charlotte still has her hands on her hips. "So, she can do whatever she wants as long as you know about it? She can go rob a bank but as long as you know she's doing it, it's okay?

"You're being ridiculous now, Charlotte."

"We're the parents, Cooper! We make the rules!"

Cooper scoffs. "Since when do we live in a dictatorship?"

"We're her parents, not her friends!" Charlotte glares at Cooper. "We make the rules."

"Say that to Andie if you want to watch her rebel." Cooper retorts.

"How else is she going to rebel? She already has a twenty one year old boyfriend! She's already breaking curfew. Tell me what else is she gonna do, Cooper?"

Cooper raises his eyebrows. "I can't think of a lot."

"I'm going to bed." Charlotte storms heavy heeled up the steps.

Cooper stirs his martini with his finger again. "Well, that went well," he says sarcastically to himself while he waits for the kids to come home before curfew.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review<strong>_


	56. Chapter 56

_**CHAPTER 56**_

* * *

><p>It's Monday. Andie's in the school cafeteria. The bell rings for the next class. She says goodbye to the girls she was sitting with and cleans up her tray. Just as she's getting ready to leave the cafeteria the senior class start filing in for their lunch period. Danielle's walks in with her two friends; Brittany and Amanda.<p>

"Hi Andie." Danielle gives a little wave "How's it going?"

"Good." Andie answers "How 'bout you?"

Before Danielle has a chance to answer Brittany cackles to Danielle "Isn't she the girl you told us about at the movies the other night?"

Andie wrinkles her brow and asks Danielle. "What did you tell them about me?"

Danielle swallows hard.

Brittany answers. "We know about your cousinly love."

Amanda joins in. "She's from the south. That's what they do there."

Andie corrects her. "_I_ was born _here_ in LA. My momma is from the south."

"Your momma?" Amanda laughs. "What are you two-years old? I want my momma." She teases Andie while Brittany laughs. Danielle stands frozen, wide eyed and speechless.

"You wanna say that to me again... outside?" Andie challenges Amanda.

"I'd love to." Amanda answers.

The four girls step outside the cafeteria doors to the outside grassy area.

Brittany heckles. "She should move back to the south where her momma's from, where she and her cousin can screw all they want."

Amanda laughs.

"You're both ignorant!" Andie shouts at them.

"We're ignorant?" Brittany scoffs. "We're going to Yale."

Amanda barks at her. "By then, you'll be knocked up with your cousin's baby." Amanda snaps at her.

"That's enough!" Andie pushes Amanda.

"Get you hands off me, bitch!" Amanda pushes Andie back.

Andie pushes Amanda again. This time Amanda grabs Andie by the hair twisting her head. Andie knees Amanda and they both fall onto the grass. Amanda pulls Andie's hair while Andie hits Amanda in the face. Danielle looks on stunned. Two football player dudes walk outside. "Girl fight!" One of them shouts.

The other dude tries to pull them apart. He pulls Andie away from Amanda. "What are you fighting about?" The muscular dude asks.

"That bitch is screwing her cousin and we think it's gross!" Amanda tells the football player. while fixing her disheveled clothes.

"Is that true?" The football player Dude asks Andie.

Andie just looks at the ground. She doesn't want to hide Nicky but she doesn't know how this dude will react so she stays silent.

"Is it true? You're not really screwing your own cousin are you?" The dude asks Andie again.

Amanda answers. "Go ahead, bitch, tell him the truth that you're screwing your cousin."

Andie finally answers. "I don't owe any of you an explanation."

"Screwing your cousin is sick." The football dude tells her. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Mind your own business!" Andie shouts at the dude.

The dude shouts back, "Why don't you screw me?" He moves in close to Andie and squeezes her right breast. "I'll show you how good it can be when it's not kept all in the family."

Andie pushes his hand away from her. The dude tries it again, Andie pushes him. He pushes Andie back.

By now, Danielle's in tears. "Please everyone stop it!" She cries out.

Chase and Tess arrive at school late after meeting with the DA. They're walking from the parking lot to the school. "Isn't that Andie?" Tess points to the scuffle going on outside the cafeteria. Chase watches the football dude push his sister. He drops his book bag and runs over. "Get away from my sister!" He yells at the dude.

"Your sister?" The dude says looking at Andie. "Are you screwing him too?" He laughs.

Chase punches the muscular dude hard in the face. The dude punches him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of Chase. The other dude joins in now and they're both punching Chase at the same time. Chase catches his breath, but it's two against one. Tess runs inside the school building screaming for help. In the meantime, Andie jumps on one of the guys trying to get him off of Chase.

"It's not fair!" Andie yells. "It's two against one!" Danielle helps Andie hold back one of the dudes while the other dude fights Chase.

A male teacher and a school security officer come running out of the school. "Break it up!" They shout and pull them apart. The teacher looks at Chase. "Chase Freedman, this isn't like you."

"He was defending me." Andie tells the teacher. "That dude," she points, "was putting his hands on me."

"We have a zero tolerance policy for violence at this school. Any student fighting on campus gets immediate suspention." The teacher tells them all. "Who threw the punches? I don't care who started it. I just want to know who threw any punches." The teacher demands.

"All three of the guys." Brittany answers.

"Okay, young men, all three of you need to see Principal Schmidt. I'll take you." The teacher tells Chase. The teacher looks at the two football dudes. "You two walk with the security officer." They take different routes to the principal's office.

After they're gone. Tess asks Andie, "If you get suspended does that count against perfect attendance?"

Amanda heckles. "Duh! What do you think, idiot?"

Brittany tells her. "Boy Scouts only get perfect attendance."

"That's enough." Danielle says to Brittany and Amanda. "You guys started this whole thing."

"No, we didn't." Brittany gestures to Andie. "That dumb girl did by sleeping with her cousin."

Andie walks back in the school. Tess and Danielle follow her. "Where are you going?" Tess asks.

Andie opens her locker and takes all her stuff out. "I'm leaving and never coming back to this place again."

"You have to come back. You're only a Junior." Danielle tells her.

"I can't come back, thanks to you, Danielle. The whole school's going to be gawking at me because of your big mouth. I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust you." Andie puts all her books in her bag.

"I am your friend. You can trust me!" Danielle pleads.

"I've only known Tess less than a year and she was able to keep her mouth shut." Andie continues. "I've known you ever since I was born and you're the one who goes and blabs to the world that I'm banging my cousin. I thought you understood. I thought you were better than that. If I knew you were one of the ignorant ones I would have never told you about Nicky." Andie walks away.

Tess and Danielle follow her. "I'm sorry, Andie." Danielle cries. "Please believe me, I'm sorry I told them. I'm sorry!"

"It's too late." Andie walks to the exit.

"Where are you going?" Tess asks.

Andie shrugs her shoulders and walks out the door.

The next bell rings. Tess and Danielle each walk to their next class, both with knots in their stomachs.

* * *

><p>Cooper's at work when he gets the call. "Dr. Freedman, this is principal Schmidt, I have Chase in my office."<p>

"Oh?" Cooper asks.

"I'm going to have to suspend him for fighting." The principal says.

"Chase was fighting?" Cooper screws up his face.

"Yes, he was. We have a no tolerance for violence policy at this school. Anyone caught fighting is automatically suspended."

"You're talking about Chase Freedman?" Cooper scratches his head.

"The one and only." The principal responds. "You'll have to come to my office to pick him up and sign our suspension form."

"I'm on my way." Cooper hangs up.

Cooper walks in the break room and tells Addison, "I have to check out for a little while. Can you ask Sam or Pete to cover my appointments?"

"I assume it's an emergency?" Addison asks.

"I have to pick Chase up from school." He answers.

"Why?" Charlotte walks in the kitchen for some coffee.

Cooper twists his mouth to the side and tells her "You're not going to believe this but Chase got suspended for fighting. I have to go pick him up."

"I'll go with you." She looks at Addison. "You need to cover for me while I go get my boy."

Addison nods. "Go ahead, both of you. Don't worry about it."

Meanwhile, Andie drives home first and packs a bag before heading to Nicky's cottage. Once she arrives at the cottage she sits on the couch and cries while she waits for him to get home from work.

* * *

><p><strong>REVIEW<strong>


	57. Chapter 57

_**CHAPTER 57**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper walk in Principal Schmidt's office. They all shake hands. The principal takes a seat behind his desk. Chase is seated in a chair in the room. "What happened, Chase?" Charlotte studies her eldest's son's red face that's beginning to swell.<p>

"Oooh!" Cooper squishes up his nose. "That's going to be a nasty bruise tomorrow." He examines Chase's eye. "Remind me to teach you how to fight." Cooper turns and looks at the principal. "I was just kidding."

The principal nods. "I understand and if it's any consolation the other two boys don't look much better than Chase."

"Two boys?" Charlotte asks. "You were fighting two boys?"

Chase nods.

"What for?" Charlotte asks.

Chase doesn't answer but the principal does. "The witnesses all agreed Chase was defending his sister."

"Andie?" Cooper's surprised.

"Has he another sister I don't know about?" Charlotte sarcastiaclly snaps at Cooper, clearly annoyed.

Cooper ignores Charlotte's remark and asks Chase, "why were you defending Andie?"

"They were picking on her." Chase tells Cooper.

"Who was picking on Andie?" Cooper asks, obviously upset to hear this.

"These two football players." Chase answers

"Why were they picking on Andie?"

"They found out about Nicky. They were giving her a rough time about it." Chase explains.

"I knew this would happen." Charlotte shakes her head, annoyed. "Damn, ignorant people."

The principal tells them, "Although, I think it's noble of Chase to come to his sister's defense, I'm forced to suspend him due to our no tolerance for violence policy. However, Chase is an outstanding student and since this is his first offense I'm only going to give him one day of suspension. I'm giving the other two boys three days suspension for bullying and fighting."

"Thank you." Cooper shakes principal Schmidt's hand.

The principal adds. "You should also know that immediately after the fight, witnesses reported to us that Alexandria left the school. That's also a violation of school policy."

"What's her punishment?" Charlotte asks.

"Due to the events of the day, I'm going to take it easy on her and give her one hour of detention during her lunch period."

"Thank you," Cooper nods.

The Freedman's drive home. Cooper looks in the rearview mirror at Chase. "I'm not mad at you. I'm proud of you for sticking up for your sister."

"How 'bout you, momma?" Chase asks Charlotte.

"I can't be mad at you either."

They walk in the house and Cooper calls out for Andie.

"Her car's not in the driveway, dad." Chase tells Cooper. "She's not home."

"Three guesses where she is?" Charlotte quirks an eyebrow up at Cooper.

"Let's go get her." Cooper walks back out the front door with Charlotte right behind him.

They make the drive to Nicky's cottage. Andie's car is parked in the driveway. Cooper knocks but gets no answer. He knocks again. "Open up, Andie, or I'll get the key from Sheldon."

Andie opens the door. Her eyes are red from crying. Charlotte hugs her. "I'm so sorry, Sweat Pea."

"You heard what happened?" Andie sniffles and goes back to sitting on the couch in front of the TV.

Cooper sits next to her, rubbing her leg. "Principal Schmidt called us. He suspended Chase for fighting."

"Oh shit!" Andie cries. "It's my fault. Chase was defending me."

Charlotte hugs her only daughter again. "I wish I could make this better, Sweet Pea. I know those kids were cruel to you." Charlotte pushes a lock of Andie's hair behind her ear. "We know that's why Chase fought with them."

"They were so mean to me, momma. I don't ever want to go back there." Andie sniffles. " Danielle told them Nicky was my cousin. They said all this stuff about cousins from the south."

"They're ignorant, Andie." Charlotte tells her. "You're going to come across many more ignorant people in your life. Don't let them break you."

"I thought you were gonna be mad at me, momma." Andie sniffles. "That's why I came here."

"How could I be mad at you?" Charlotte pulls Andie close and gives her a lingering kiss on the top of her head." After she lets go of Andie she tells her. "You're my baby girl, Sweet Pea, believe it or not, it hurts me worse than you, to think how cruel those kids were to you."

Andie looks up into Charlotte's eyes.

Charlotte wipes a tear from Andie's cheek. "You'll understand how I feel one day when you're a momma."

"Thanks for not being mad." Andie hugs Charlotte tight. "You're the best mother I could have."

Cooper sits quietly on the couch and listens. He lets Charlotte handle this one.

Charlotte cups Andie's chin in her hand and looks her in the eye. "Listen here, baby girl, if you're planning to keep this up with Nicky, you're going to have to grow thick skin."

"Huh?"

"When people find out that you're a blood relation to Nicky they're not going to care that you fell in love him before you knew you were cousins." Charlotte wipes away Andie's tears with her thumb. "_We _know you don't consider him your cousin but strangers don't care, they'll lash out at you and you'll have to be ready for it." Charlotte continues. "You're going to encounter more of what you did today. You'll have to learn to let it roll off your skin and walk away."

Andie nods. "Okay, momma, I'll try."

"Or you could stop dating Nicky." Cooper suggests. "If it's going to be like this...-"

"I don't want to give up Nicky because of those creeps." Andie insists.

Charlotte gets up. "Alright then, as long as you know it's an uphill battle."

"I know that now, momma. I'll be okay."

"Okay." Charlotte looks at her watch before telling Cooper. "We better get back to work." She looks at Andie. "We'll see you at home for dinner."

"I'm going to stay here." Andie tells Charlotte. "I want to tell Nicky what happened." Andie tells Charlotte.

"Can't you call or text him about it?" Charlotte asks.

"Why can't I just wait for him?"

"Fine." Charlotte answers. "But I want you home tonight before dinner."

"Why?" Andie groans.

"Because you're my daughter and I'd like to see you. Your brothers would like to see you too." Charlotte tells her.

Cooper chimes in. "I want to see you too."

Charlotte continues. "You're going to be going away to school in another year. I want to see you while I still can."

Andie teases. "Are you ever going to let me out of the house?"

"Course." Charlotte smiles at her daughter and jokes, "when you're thirty."

"Okay, momma. I promise to be home before dinner." Andie gives both Charlotte and Cooper a kiss goodbye.

* * *

><p><strong><em>REVIEWS are AWESOME!<em>**

_Zoe- I do accept requests but I'm really bogged down right now with the holiday's, school and work. I can't take on another story at this time but possibly can do it in the new year if you can wait. You can pm me your idea. Thanks for reading/reviewing. =)_


	58. Chapter 58

_**CHAPTER 58**_

* * *

><p>It's a sunny afternoon, Dylan and Lila walk around the track during gym class, while the rest of the class sprints past them. The gym teacher doesn't allow Dylan to run the track because of his health issues. He's allowed to pick another student to walk with him. He picks Lila, which is good since Lila looks like she's in physically worse shape than Dylan. Dylan's thin from the chemotherapy. He wears a cap or Fedora most days to cover up his bald head. Lila's spine and clavicle protrude now so she wears loose shirts and jeans but there's no hiding her bony legs in her gym shorts. She's tired of everyone telling her how thin she is when she knows she still needs to lose another five pounds to reach <em>her<em> goal weight.

"Do you want to go with me to the seventh grade social?" Lila asks Dylan.

"Like a date?" He screws up his face.

"Yeah."

"Uh…no."

"Oh…okay." Lila walks around the next lap feeling awkward now until she asks "Why don't you want to go with me? Do you think I'm ugly?"

"No, you're not ugly. You're like my sister. I can't take you as a date." Dylan tells her.

"Huh?"

"We've been friends since our diaper days. You're like one of the guys. Taking you as my date would just be...weird."

"Oh."

"Besides, I like Hailey Hughes." Dylan tells her.

"Are you going to ask Hailey?"

"No way."

"Why not?" Lila advises her friend. "If you like her, ask her."

"She would probably say yes to me as a charity case because I'm sick." Dylan explains."Why would she want to go with_ me_? I'm bald."

"Maybe it won't bother her." Lila suggests. "Ask her and see."

"No. I'm going to wait until I'm done with chemo and my hair grows back. Then I'll ask Hailey out."

Lila's about to say something before she suddenly stops walking.

"What's wrong?" Dylan asks.

Lila puts her hand to her head. "I don't know. I feel weird.""

"Like how weird?"

"My head feels fuzzy. Like all spacey."

Dylan suggests. "Let's go sit on the grass." They start to walk off the paved track to the grass when Lila collapses and falls to the ground.

"Help!" Dylan calls out to the gym teacher.

* * *

><p>Andie stays home from school the day after the fight. Charlotte and Cooper allow it since Chase is home serving his day of suspension. Andie calls Nicky at his construction job.<p>

"Why are you calling me now, Belle? It's ten am shouldn't you be in Social Studies class?"

"I didn't go to school today."

"Why? Are you sick?"

"No. I wish I never have to go back to that place. My parents let me stay home cuz Chase gets to stay home but they're going to make me go back tomorrow."

"Why's Chase home?" Nicky asks.

"He got suspended."

"Mr. Perfect got suspended. What did he do?" Nicky chuckles.

"He got into a fight defending me against these guys."

"Why did _you_ need defending?" Nicky asks.

"Danielle told her friends about us. They got mean so I started fighting with this girl Amanda. These two dudes came along to break us up from fighting. He asked what we were fighting about and Amanda basically told him that me and you were kissing cousins from the south. He said I should screw him instead and grabbed my boob, so I pushed him…-"

"He put his hands on you?"

"Yeah, he grabbed my boob and squeezed it so I pushed him. Chase and Tess were coming into school late and saw. Chase punched the dude and then him and this other dude started fighting Chase." Andie explains.

"I want you to show me who these punks are. I'll pick you up before school lets out and you show me who they are." Nicky tells her.

"They're suspended but they still have to go to football practice after school I could show you then."

"Good, show me then."

"What are you going to do to them, Nicky?"

"Nothing, I just want to see the punk that laid his hands on you. That's all."

"Promise me that you won't fight them."

"How does letting some air out of their tires sound? Maybe taking a hatchet to their windshield at night?"

Andie laughs. "I could deal with that."

"What time should I pick you up?"

"Football practice ends at five."

"I'll pick you up at four thirty."

"I'll be here." Andie hangs up.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Pete wait for Lila's ambulance to arrive. "Where's Violet?" Charlotte asks him.<p>

"She's on her way. Cooper's driving her over from the office now." Pete tells Charlotte.

The ambulance pulls up and the medics pull out the stretcher with a wide eyed Lila sitting up. "What happened?" Pete asks his thirteen year old daughter.

"I fainted in gym class. The coach called an ambulance and made me come to the hospital." Lila tells her dad.

"That's alright." Pete kisses his daughter on the head. "We'll figure out why you fainted."

The paramedic tells Pete. "Her blood sugar was 58. We tried to give her some juice and crackers but she refused to take them."

Pete looks at Lila."Your blood sugar is low. That's why you passed out in gym class. You need to eat something to bring it up."

"I'm not hungry right now, dad."

"It doesn't matter if you're not hungry." Pete tells her. "You need to eat something to bring your sugar level back up to normal."

"You wait for Violet out here, Pete." Charlotte says. "We'll bring Lila into an exam room and start an IV to bring her sugar up."

"How many calories are in the IV?" Lila asks Charlotte.

"It's just going to bring your blood sugar up, Lila. It won't make you gain any weight." Charlotte explains.

"Okay, good." Lila says as they wheel her into the exam room. The nurse gives Lila a gown to change into. Charlotte cringes from behind when she see's Lila's vertebrae and ribs protrude from her body. Lila looks like a skeleton.

"Let's get a weight on her." Charlotte tells the nurse.

Charlotte steps out of the room to talk to Pete. "Are you aware Lila has an eating disorder?"

"She's a thirteen year old girl, Charlotte." Pete shrugs. "Don't they all?"

"Did you see her without a shirt?" Charlotte asks.

Pete shakes his head. "Not since she started puberty."

"She's all skin and bones." Charlotte tells him. "These girls are smart. They know how to hide it from their parents."

Pete listens to Charlotte while the nurse comes out and shows her the chart. Charlotte reads the results and shows Pete. "Lila's eighty five pounds. That's off the charts for her height. She's tachycardiac. We're going to have to do an EKG to see if she's having any arrhythmias. Charlotte tells the nurse. "We need an EKG and a chem panel on Lila Wilder."

"Yes, Dr. King." The nurse takes the chart back and gets to work on it.

Pete leans up against the wall in defeat. "How did we not know? Violet and I are both doctors. How could we let it get this bad?"

Charlotte rubs his arm. "It's okay, Pete." Charlotte comforts him."We're gonna fix your little girl up. The important thing is now we're aware and we can help her."

Violet walks in the ER with Cooper. She notices Pete leaning up against the wall looking distressed. Violet runs up to Pete, "Oh my God, Pete? What's wrong? Where's Lila?"

Charlotte answers first. "She's in an exam room. The nurses are doing an EKG and drawing some blood from her now."

"Do you know why she passed out?" Violet asks. "The school called and said she passed out during gym class."

Charlotte answers. "She has low blood sugar."

Pete answers. "She's anorexic, Violet. Lila is anorexic."

Violet answers. "She's a thin girl Pete. Our entire family is thin. It's genetic."

Pete tells Violet. "She refused to drink the orange juice for the paramedics in the ambulance, Violet. She wanted to make sure the IV didn't have any calories before she let them put it in." Pete stresses to Violet. "She's anorexic, Violet. Lila weighs eighty five pounds."

"I don't understand. I know she eats at home." Violet thinks. "I make her brownies all the time to bulk her up and she eats them."

"Do you actually watch her eat them or does she just tell you she ate them?" Cooper asks.

"I don't know." Violet responds. "I'm trying to think the last time I saw her put anything in her mouth."

"My bet is you'll find those brownies at the bottom of the trash can." Charlotte chimes in.

"Oh God." Violet cries. "What am I gonna do?"

"We'll help you." Cooper hugs Violet. "We'll help you and Lila get through this."

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky sit in his car across from the school football field waiting for practice to end. Nicky puffs on his cigarette while they wait for the two dudes to leave the field. Andie show's Nicky. "That's them over there." She points. "You see those two dudes walking, the one with the number 12 on his jersey and the dude he's walking with."<p>

"I see them." Nicky watches them walk to their car.

"That's them. They're walking over to the red Mazda."

"Nice car." Nicky comments. "Given to them by a rich mommy or daddy, no doubt."

"Spoiled punks." Andie agrees.

"Which one put his hands on you?" Nicky asks.

"The one with the short brown hair." Andie points.

Nicky clenches his jaw and glares.

"You promised me you wouldn't pick a fight with them. I already got Chase suspended. I don't want you to get in trouble too."

"I graduated three years ago, Andie. They can't do anything to me."

"Still, "Andie says."It's over, they're just ignorant punks, let's just forget about it and go back to your cottage,okay?" She kisses him.

"Okay," he answers.

The red Mazda screeches out of the school parking lot. Nicky starts up his car to follow.

"Do not follow them Nicky or else you can take me home right now!" Andie threatens. "No fun for Mr. Nick for a week if you follow those punks."

"Fine." Nicky caves. He turns the car around. "Let's go home, Belle." He puts his hand on her knee and squeezes.

Andie grins, "Good decision."


	59. Chapter 59

_**CHAPTER 59**_

* * *

><p>Andie's lying on her bed listening to her iPod. She doesn't hear Danielle knock on her bedroom door so Danielle just walks in. Andie looks up and pulls hers ear phones out of both ears. The left one gets caught in her long strawberry blonde hair. "Dang!" She yells as she tries to untangle the little white ear piece from her hair.<p>

"Here let me help you." Danielle sits next to her on the bed and tries to untangle the little white earpeice.

Andie pushes her hand out of the way. "I don't need your help." She snarls. "You've done enough."

"Let me help you!" Danielle insists as she yanks the little white earpeice out of Danielle's hair.

"Youch!" Andie yelps.

Andie and Danielle both look into each other's eyes and burst out laughing. They laugh so hard until they both have tears in their eyes. They look like they're crying.

Danielle wipes away her own tears of laughter or sadness or really, a combination of both. "I'm sorry." She says to Andie.

"I know you are." Andie wipes away her own tears. "I believe you _are_ sorry but it doesn't make any of this easier for me at school. My momma used to say *_sorry doesn't butter the bread _* to us when we were little. It means...-"

"I know what it means." Danielle interrupts.

"That's right, I forgot, you're going to Yale." Andie's voice is loaded with sarcasm. "You know everything."

Danielle lets the remark fly over her head. "How can I butter the bread? How can I make this right?"

"You can't."

"C'mon Andie. I want to make it up to you." Danielle sighs. "I want us to be the way we used to be. I miss us."

Andie picks up that Danielle is sincere. She decides to cut her some slack and open up to her. Andie tells Danielle in a soft, quiet voice. "I'm terrified to go back to school. I didn't go again today. My brother's bringing my work home for me. Everyone at school thinks I'm dating my cousin."

Danielle answers as softly as possible. "Andie, you _are _dating your cousin." She puts her hand gently on top of Andie's

"No!" Andie responds rather agitated this time. "Nicky is _NOT_ my cousin according to the dictionary. Cousins share a common ancestor, a grandparent." Andie explains to Danielle. "My grandparents are Marvin and Mary Freedman from my dad's side and Charles and Augusta King from my momma's side. They aren't Nicky's grandparents. Nicky's grandmother's name is Susan Moore on his mother's side and his father's parents are Christos and Ava Poulos." Andie sighs. "We don't share any grandparents. That means we _are not _cousins."

"I see your point." Danielle nods.

"You're adopted, Danielle. You don't know who your cousins are. Lucas could be your cousin for all you know." Andie gets up off the bed and paces the room as she talks.

"I know my grandma, Robin, and she's not Lucas's grandma." Danielle defends.

"Robin is your biological mother's mother but what about your biological father?" Andie turns around to face Danielle, raising an eyebrow at her. "Do you know who your father is or who his parents are?"

"No." Danielle scoffs. "But I'm sure they're not Lucas's grandparents."

Andie paces the room, telling Danielle, "I would never have known Nicky was a blood relative if his mother didn't search for her biological mother."

"Lucas and I look nothing alike." Danielle scoffs. "He's blonde and has totally different features than me."

"And you think I look like Nicky?" Andie asks.

"Well, no, not really." Danielle answers.

Andie paces again. "Nicky's tall with dark hair and an olive skin tone. He looks like his dad's family who are Greek. I'm petite, fair and have strawberry blonde hair. Nobody would guess we were related if you didn't go and tell Brittany and Amanda."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back." Danielle apologizes again.

"So, then do it!" Andie's turns on her heels, facing Danielle. Her voice is full of determination. "Take it back!"

"How do I do that?" Danielle asks.

"Tell Brittany and Amanda that you made it up." Andie paces back and forth while thinking. "Tell them Nicky's not really my cousin. That's the only way I could show my face at school again."

"But they'll ask me why I lied." Danielle responds. "What reason can I give them for making it up?"

Andie shrugs. "Tell them that you were jealous cuz I'm dating a super, hot guy who happens to be the lead singer and guitarist for the most popular upcoming band in LA." Andie takes a breath.

Danielle scrunches up her face. "I'll look like a fool. I'll look like a green-eyed imbecile if I say I made it up because I was jealous."

"Can you think of a better reason to say you lied?" Andie asks.

Danielle shrugs. "No."

"Then go with it, that you were jealous. They'll believe that."

Danielle complains. "Brittany and Amanda will spread it around school that I'm a jealous liar. Everyone will be talking about me by the end of the day."

"Then you'll see how it feels to be me." Andie shoots. "Welcome to the club."

"Okay." Danielle sighs heavily. "I'll do it. I'll tell them I lied. I'll say Nicky isn't really your cousin."

"You will?" Andie's surprised.

Danielle sighs again and shrugs this time. "I haven't got that much longer in high school. I guess I can endure the looks for a few months."

Andie smiles. "Thank you, now I can return to school without being stoned alive."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you and Chase. I felt sick when that dude grabbed your chest and then when the two of them were fighting Chase. I was shaking. I wanted to vomit."

"You're forgiven." Andie hugs Danielle. "But you'll have to deal with the consequences tomorrow when you tell everyone you lied."

"I know. I know." Danielle asks. "Can we go back to being BFF's again?"

"That depends." Andie looks at her. "Are you going to keep hanging out with Brittany and Amanda?"

"Not after the way they treated you. Besides, they're not going to want to hang with me once I say I lied because I was jealous. I'm going to be friendless for the rest of the semester."

Andie tells her, "ya got me."

"Okay." Danielle hugs Andie. "I'll do it for you."

* * *

><p>Nicky puffs on a cigarette while he sits in his car outside the high school football field with his friend, Cody, from his band. "Here they come." Nicky points out the two punks that bothered Andie. They watch the punks get into a red Mazda. The red Mazda turns out of the school parking lot, Nicky starts up his car and follows them. He tailgates them for about a quarter of a mile before the guy gives him the finger in the mirror. When they get to a traffic light Nicky carefully bumps the car with his, not to cause damage, but to piss the guys off. At the red light the driver gets out of his car and yells at Nicky "What the hell are you doing, ass wipe?" The punk raises his fist in the air. "Are you crazy?"<p>

"Pull over in that parking lot, over there, and we'll talk about it, you horny Jackass!" Nicky yells back. The punk kid screws up his face wondering what Nicky's up to. He gets back in the driver's seat and pulls over into the parking lot.

Nicky pulls up beside him and all four guys get out of the car. "What's your problem?" The driver dude asks. "You've been tailgating us since we left the school."

"Which one of you felt up my girlfriend?" Nicky demands.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dude. Who's your girlfriend?"

"The redhead at the school cafeteria the other day." Nicky answers. "One of you grabbed her boob."

The dude laughs. "Oh, you must be her kissin' cousin." Ha! Ha! Ha!" The dude laughs.

"Say that again and I'll rip your face apart, you horny Jackass!" Nicky threatens. "Now which one of you put your hands on my girlfriend?"

"It was him." The passenger dude points to the driver dude. "I didn't lay a finger on her."

Nicky throws his cigarette down on the ground and looks the kid in the eye with fierceness in his own eyes. "You messed with the wrong girl. You're going down!" Nicky grabs the dude by the collar and punches him in the face. The dude tries to fight back but Nicky's in the lead throwing powerful punches. The passenger dude tries to jump in and help his friend. That's when Cody comes into play and pulls the passenger dude away holding him back. Cody tells the passenger dude. "I'm not here to fight you. He's the one we want. I'm just here to hold you back to keep it fair. One on one."

"Alright" The passenger dude agrees. "Let them fight it out." He watches Nicky fight his friend alongside Cody.

Nicky punches the guy until he has him on the ground. Then he starts kicking him. "That's enough!" The passenger dude tells Cody. "Pull your friend off him or I'm going to have to jump in."

Cody calls out to Nicky. "That's it Nicky. He's down. Let's go home."

Nicky continues to kick the dude everywhere; in the head, in the groin, in the stomach. The dude holds his crotch, groaning in pain. He's not fighting back anymore.

"Pull your friend off or I'm calling the cops." The passenger dude takes out his phone.

Cody pleads for Nicky to stop. "Come on, Nicky. He's down, lets go!" Cody grabs Nicky by the shoulders and pulls him back. Nicky's eyes are fierce. Cody pulls him, insisting. "Let's go, man!"

Nicky turns around to spit in the hurt dude's face. "Touch my girlfriend again and next time I won't stop til you're dead."

Nicky and Cody get back in their car and drive away. "Holy shit!" Cody says to him. "I thought you were gonna kill that dude. You were like an animal. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"My dad." Nicky answers. "I learned from my dad."

Nicky and Cody drive back to the cottage. Nicky has a cut on his lip from one of the punches he took from the dude. He has another scratch under his eye. Nicky cleans up and changes his clothes. He hangs out with Cody, while talking and drinking beer. There's a knock on the door. Nicky answers it. "Good evening, officer. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Nicky Poulos?" The officer asks.

"That's me." Nicky answers.

"Were you involved in a physical altercation today?"

"Why do you want to know that?" Nicky runs his finger along his cut lip. He's pretty sure the officer already knows the answer.

"We tracked you here. A witness gave us your license plate number.."

Nicky looks over at Cody. Cody get up and greets the officer.

"Is everything okay, officer? What seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is your friend here was involved in an altercation. We have a victim in the hospital being treated for head trauma and fractured ribs. A witness was able to get the license plate number before your friend drove away. I'm going to guess those fresh cuts on his face and hands came from the assault."

"Shit," Nicky looks at his friend Cody.

The officer takes out his handcuffs and recites Nicky his rights. "You have the right to remain silent...-"

"What is he being charged with?" Cody interrupts the officer.

"The charge is first degree assault." Nicky puts his hands out for the officer to handcuff him. The officer continues to recite him his rights.

"Who should I call Nicky to bail you out?" Cody asks Nicky as the officer cuffs him.

"Not my mom. I don't want her to know." Nicky tells him.

"I'll post the bail if I can afford it." Cody tells him. "I can't do more than 200 though."

"Don't worry about it." Nicky tells Cody. "Don't call anyone yet."

"I'll see if I can get the band to chip in if the bail's over 200 bucks. We need you to sing Friday night." Cody pulls his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll pay you guys back when I get out, I promise." Nicky tells Cody.

Sheldon peeks out his bedroom window. He tells Amelia. "The police are arresting Nicky."

"Why?" Amelia asks.

"I hope it's not drugs. Dylan's thirteen and impressionable. I don't want him exposed to that."

Amelia looks out the window. "It's not drugs." Amelia answers.

"How can you be so sure?" Sheldon asks.

"I know a fellow addict when I see one. I talk to Nicky everyday. He's not using." Amelia explains. "It's must be something else."

Sheldon picks up his phone and pushes some buttons.

"Who are you calling?" Amelia asks.

"Nicky's dating Andie. I'm calling Cooper to find out what's going on."

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	60. Chapter 60

_**CHAPTER 60**_

* * *

><p>Nicky's surprised when the guard tells him his bail has been posted. He didn't expect his band to get the money together that quick. The guard walks him outside. Cooper's waiting for him. Nicky looks over at Cooper. "Wait a minute, you posted my bail?"<p>

Cooper nods.

"I told Cody not to tell Andie I got arrested."

"He didn't. Sheldon Wallace called me. He saw the cops take you away in handcuffs. A few minutes later, Charlotte called to tell me the boy that was bullying Andie at school was in the hospital. Someone beat him up pretty bad. I put it together and came down here to bail you out. You're sprung." Cooper pats Nicky on the back. "I've been behind bars myself. It's not fun." He hands Chase a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Nicky accepts the coofee. "I'm just...surprised that you're the one who posted my bail. I'll pay it back."

"No rush." Cooper shrugs. "Pay it back when you can."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Nicky walks to the car with Cooper and asks. "I didn't think you liked me, Dr. Freedman?"

"I did it for Andie." Cooper walks and talks while sipping his coffee. "Andie would literally freak out if she knew you were sitting in jail for fighting over her. And I never said I didn't like you. It's just that you're twenty one and my daughter just turned seventeen. She doesn't need to grow up that fast."

"I love Andie, Dr. Freedman. I would never make her do anything she didn't want to do." Nicky explains. "I even tried breaking up with her but she followed me...she came to Giorgio's whenever my band was playing there. She pursued me."

"Ah, young love." Cooper sighs as they walk out to the car.

"How's that punk doing that I beat up?" Nicky asks.

"He's in the hospital with a concussion and fractured ribs. I get that you want to protect my daughter but that wasn't a smart move." Cooper informs Nicky.

Nicky tries to explain his actions to Cooper. "If the punk just talked smack to her, I would have been mad, but I wouldn't have beat him..." Nicky stops walking and explains, "... but, when Andie told me he grabbed her... you know…lady parts…that set me off. I was _NOT_ going to let that punk get away with it."

"What do you mean he grabbed her lady parts?" Cooper asks.

"She told me he grabbed her ... you know...boob... and squeezed it." Nicky's feeling a little awkward talking to Andie's father about this but he wants to explain the motive behind his actions. He doesn't want Andie's dad to think she's dating an unsophisticated animal or something.

"She didn't tell me that...he touched her." Cooper's face drops.

"Yeah well, you're her father. I'm her boyfriend." Nicky explains. "Andie tells me things she wouldn't feel comfortable telling you."

Cooper groans. "She knows I would have went after the punk myself if she told me he touched her like that. She probably was afraid I'd have another heart attack."

"Would you have gone after the punk?" Nicky asks.

"I'd want to. When I was younger, I got in my share of fights, punched out a lot of different guys. I even got into it with Sheldon Wallace once."

"You're kidding?" Nicky chuckles. "You and Sheldon? Who won?"

"I would have if Charlotte didn't stop us." Cooper boasts.

"What were you fighting with Sheldon Wallace about?"

"Charlotte." Cooper nods answers.

"I figured it was a woman." Nicky smiles.

"You remind me a lot of myself at your age but the difference is…. and this is a big difference, Nicky… I knew when it was over…. I knew when to stop. You kept kicking this kid when he was down. That's the difference between you and me." Cooper tells him. "You need to control your temper or you could kill someone."

Nicky sighs and looks down.

* * *

><p>"The DA's office called my parents this morning." Tess tells Chase as they carry their lunch trays to a table.<p>

"What does the DA's office want now?" Chase sits down in the booth with Tess.

"The creep's attorney wants to settle out of court." Tess unwraps her breakfast sandwich.

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know." Tess rubs her head. "I think I'm going to let my parents decide this one for me?"

"Why?"

"Because if we settle out of court, he would plead to a lower charge, which is bad, because he'll get out of jail years earlier."

"Then, don't do it." Chase deadpans.

"But if I do agree to settle at least we know he'll serve time and I don't have to sit through weeks of a trial. Going to trial is going to be torture for me. I don't want to relive that night."

Chase takes a minute to munch on his sandwich before asking, "if you go to trial is there a chance he could walk free?" Chase's curious. "Could the jury let him go free?"

"It's unlikely he'll get off free because we have DNA evidence. We have a strong case but my attorney warned us anything can happen with a jury case." Tess sips her juice. "I hope they don't make me take the stand. I don't want to get up there and talk about it in front of everyone."

"I don't know what I would do either." Chase bites into his sandwich.

"Right now I want to tell my parents to just settle for a lower sentence and get it over with so I know he's in jail and I don't have to deal with a trial."

"But?"

"But I'll probably regret it when he's released. I'll wish I went through with the trial so he's locked up for as long as possible." Tess sighs.

"I wish none of this happened and you and your parents didn't need to make this kind of decision."

"But it did happen." Tess gets up. "You ready to go?"

Chase looks at his half eaten sandwich but realizes Tess lost her apetite. "Ready to go." He tosses the rest of his sandwich in the garbage.

* * *

><p>Andie decides to pay the dude in the hospital a visit. It turns out the dude's name is Spencer.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Spencer watches Andie walk in the room. "You're kissing cousin is going away for a while. I'm charging him with first degree assault. He planned it out. He followed me from football practice."

Andie glares into his eyes. "You're going to drop those charges or I'm going to charge you with assault for grabbing my boob and squeezing it at school. I have five witnesses that saw you do it. If my boyfriend goes to jail so do you." Andie warns Spencer. "At least the judge will be lenient on my boyfriend when he knows why he went after you. What's your excuse?"

Spencer has nothing to say so Andie continues:

"And to think it was all for nothing, all because of a rumor." Andie smirks at him.

"What do you mean a rumor?" He asks

"Nicky's not my cousin, You saw him. We look nothing alike. Did you see a hint of family resemblance in us?"

"No, not really."

"Some jealous girls started the rumor about me and you got sucked in." She lies to him.

"Your boyfriend's crazy." Spencer warns her. "He flew into this wild rage and started attacking me. He wouldn't let up even when I surrendered. His friend had to pull him away from me."

"You pissed the wrong guy off. You better drop the charges if you don't want to run into him in jail." Andie threatens.

"I'll drop the charges as long as that guy stays far away from me." Spencer tells her.

"As long as you stay away from me, Nicky has no reason to come near you."

Spencer nods. "Then we have a deal. Let bygones be bygones."

* * *

><p>Lila's home from the hospital resting on the couch. She gets up to answer the door. "Hey guys!" She greets Dylan, Marley and Noah who came to visit. "How ya' doing?"<p>

"Doing good." Dylan walks in and plops down on a chair.

"You're looking better." Marley tells Lila.

"You mean fatter." Lila rolls her eyes. "They wouldn't let me out of the hospital until I ate three meals in front of them. Now I have to eat in front of my parents. They're doing a calorie count on me."

"What's that?" Noah asks.

"They have to record everything I eat and write down how many calories it is. Then they weigh me everyday."

"That bites." Dylan screws up his face.

"I'm gonna look like a beached whale. I hate it." Lila complains.

"You don't look fat at all." Marley sits on Noah's lap on a bean bag chair.

"Can we not talk about me anymore?" Lila rolls her eyes.

"What do you want to talk about?" Marley asks.

"We don't need to talk about anything." Lila looks at Dylan. "So, did you bring the stuff?" Lila asks.

Dylan grins while he pulls a baggie out of his pocket. "This outta cheer you up."

"Give it here." Lila holds out her hands. Dylan passes the bag to Lila. Lila takes out her portion of weed to roll then passes the bag to Noah and Marley.

* * *

><p>Charlotte enters Spencer's hospital room. "I'm Dr. Charlotte King the Chief of Staff of this hospital. How are you doing, Spencer?"<p>

"I've been better." Spencer answers.

"I should also tell you I'm Andie and Chase Freedman's mother."

"Oh…" Spencer's mouth drops open…"I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apologies. I don't want you botherin' my kids anymore at school."

"I won't." Spencer answers. "Your daughter should have told me it was all a rumor in the first place. Then none of this would have had to happen."

"Excuse me?"

"She should have told me that she was never dating her cousin. That's what I had a problem with. I didn't know it was just a rumor some girls started."

"Andie told you it was a rumor?"

"Yeah," Spencer shrugs. "Isn't it?"

Charlotte swallows. "Course it is."

"I'm sorry it all happened for nothing." Chase tells Charlotte. "I won't bother your kids again."

Charlotte sighs. "Good." Charlotte turns to leave. "Feel better soon."

* * *

><p>Pete comes home from work early and unexpectedly to check on Lila. His mouth drops open at the sight of Lila and her friends. Lila tries to hide the joint behind her back when she hears him walk in the door but the smell gives it away.<p>

Pete sniffs the air, looking at them. "Someone care to explain?"

"Sorry, daddy. We were just trying it." Lila apologizes. "Want some?"

Pete screws up his face." No, I don't want some."

"You used to smoke, daddy." Lila asks.

"Used to, not anymore." Pete answers.

Marely starts to panic. "Please don't tell my mother. Please, Dr. Wilder. You don't know how upset she'll be. She overreacts."

Pete knows how Jolie can be so he agrees. "I won't tell any of your parents, if you promise not to do it again."

"We promise." Noah says. "Honest, Dr. Wilder."

"Cross my heart. Hope to die." Marley says as she makes a cross on her chest.

"That goes for you too, Lila." Pete points his finger. "Your mother is upset enough over you starving yourself. I don't want to have to tell her about this too."

Lila holds up her hand. "I swear it won't happen again."

Pete sighs. "You guys are way too young to be trying this. I didn't try it until I was almost sixteen. You guys are only thirteen and fourteen years old. Your bodies are still growing and developing. Who knows what this shit will do to you." Pete picks up the baggie with the rest of the weed and sticks it in his pocket before he turns to leave.

"Dr. Wilder?" Dylan asks.

"Yes, Dylan?"

"You think you can bring us up some chips? I got the munchies."

Pete rolls his eyes and walks out of the room.

* * *

><p>Charlotte asks Andie to stay and help her with the dishes tonight. "I talked to Spencer at the hospital." Charlotte breaks the ice and tells Andie.<p>

"He's a real piece of work, huh, momma?"

Charlotte nods. "Why did you tell him it was a rumor 'bout you and Nicky being related?"

"It's none of his business." Andie dries a pan.

"I just want to make sure you didn't lie because you're feeling ashamed of yourself. If you feel you and Nicky are doin' right you shouldn't be ashamed to admit it."

Andie sighs. "I'm not ashamed, momma. It's just easier this way then having everybody fight and whisper behind my back."

Charlotte rinses another pan. "It's your decision, Sweet Pea. You have to live with it. I just don't want you feeling ashamed. It isn't good to live your life in shame. It'll tear you down." Charlotte advises.

"I'm not ashamed, momma. I promise."

"Alright then." Charlotte smiles softly and walks out of the kitchen up to the bedroom. She changes into her pajamas before climbing into bed next to Cooper, who's on his laptop. "Whatcha doin'?"

Cooper closes the laptop. "Just looking at my schedule for tomorrow."

Charlotte snuggles up to Cooper and lies her head on his shoulder while she swirls her fingers around his chest. Cooper wraps his arms around her.

"Tell me what's on your mind?" Cooper asks.

"Andie."

"What now?" It's Cooper's turn to sigh.

"She's lyin' to everyone." Charlotte shoots.

"About what?"

"She's telling everyone that her and Nicky _aren't_ really cousins. She told that boy Spencer it was a rumor."

"She's gotta do what she's gotta do. It's none of Spencer or anyone else's business." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"Do you think she's in some kind of denial about it?" Charlotte asks.

Cooper answers, "I think she's trying to convince herself very hard that they're not cousins because they weren't raised that way. It's unfair the way things happened with Nicky being her first love and then finding out he's her cousin. She wants to pretend he's not."

Charlotte does another deep sigh.

"Don't worry so much about it." Cooper rubs Charlotte's back. "Andie's only seventeen. She's still has to finish high school go and go through college. I don't expect her and Nicky to last through all that. This will all be water under the bridge one day soon."

"Aha!" Charlotte says. "So, you're _not_ really okay with Andie dating Nicky. You're just biding the time until they break up."

"You got me." Cooper smiles. "But not because of the cousin thing. If Leslie didn't search for her biological family it wouldn't be an issue but I still wouldn't be happy they're dating."

Charlotte lifts her head up off his shoulder to look at him. "Why?"

"I don't like that he's three years older than her and I don't like his temper. He takes after his father with that. The first time I met his father, the man socked me in the mouth with his fist."

"I remember." Charlotte agrees. "That's when Chase was missing. It turned out he was at their house playing with Nicky."

"And he started in with me a few other times after that." Cooper says. "I remember Leslie would walk around with black eyes when she was married to that guy."

"Yeah, I remember you called social services on them."

Cooper chuckles sarcastically. "And that's why Leslie hated me and never told me she found out I was her biological twin brother."

"Cooper?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't think Nicky would ever hit Andie, do you?"

Cooper shakes his head. "Not now. They're like two lovebirds,_ but_ if they do stay together, I could see it happening in the future if she did something to make him mad enough."

Charlotte tells Cooper. "He beat that kid Spencer real bad."

"I heard." Cooper sighs. "The cop told me he kept kicking Spencer even after he surrendered."

"He better not hurt, Andie." Charlotte groans. "Ever."

"Don't worry so much, momma." Cooper kisses Charlotte gently on the head. "Andie's a tiger just like her momma." Cooper flips Charlotte on her back." Wanna' have some adult playtime?"

"Thought you would never ask." She presses her lips into his.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	61. Chapter 61

_**CHAPTER 61**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks through the hospital cafeteria to get her morning coffee. She literally bumps into Amelia. "I'm sorry." She tells the brunette.<p>

"I'm the one that should be apologizing to you." Amelia corrects the blonde.

"I clearly bumped into you. I wasn't watching where I was going." Charlotte take the blame.

"I didn't mean about just now. I meant for blaming you for testifying for Cole at the custody hearing. It turns out you were right."

"Walk with me." Charlotte puts her arm on Amelia's back and leads her towards the coffee bar. "It's my treat."

"It turns out you and Cole were right. It was wrong for me and Sheldon to keep Dylan cooped up in the house like a caged bird. Dylan told the judge he would prefer to live with Cole. I started letting him out more. I took him to parties, I let him go to school again. His spirits lifted one hundred percent." Amelia explains. "And he's doing great."

Charlotte fills her coffee cup. "That's great. I hear he's coming in for his last round of chemo today."

"Yes." Amelia says. "'Cross your fingers this is it and he stays in remission."

Charlotte crosses her fingers and shows them to Amelia. Amelia snickers.

"Do you want me to bring Noah by after school to visit him?"

"Please do. Dylan gets so bored in the hospital." Amelia sips her coffee.

"Has he been going down to the new teen room in the pediatric wing? My kids love to go play in there and they're not patients."

"Not yet. Sheldon always says it's not a good idea, he thinks there are too many germs in there from the sick patients."

"We don't allow patients with anything contagious in that room. The nurses keep a pretty good eye that nobody slips in."

Amelia nods. "I think the real reason that Sheldon doesn't like Dylan to go in there is that Cole was the main contributor for the funding of that room."

"It _was_ Cole's suggestion to add that room after he saw how bored and depressed Dylan would get in the hospital." Charlotte says.

"That's why Sheldon doesn't like Dylan going in there."

"Really?" Charlotte says. 'That doesn't seem like Sheldon."

"Don't get me wrong, Charlotte." Amelia explains." I love my husband. Sheldon's a good father but there has always been this competition over Dylan between him and Cole. I thought it would stop after Sara was born since she's Sheldon and my child together but it's gotten worse since Dylan got sick."

"I wonder why?" Charlotte sips her tea.

Amelia explains "Sheldon's retired now. He's got more time to think plus he's home all day with the kids. He kept Dylan under house arrest after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's. He would hang with Dylan all day and then here comes Cole on the weekends, who wants to take Dylan out and do all this fun stuff. Sheldon's twenty years older than Cole. As much as he tries, he can't keep up with the physical activities that Dylan likes to do. This is going to sound horrible but I think Sheldon was relieved when Dylan had to quit the football team because he was sick, _that_ was something Dylan and Cole enjoyed together."

"I see." Charlotte nods. "Sheldon likes to do the easy relaxing activities with Dylan and Cole the more active stuff?"

"Right. And when Dylan got sick he couldn't do the athletic stuff with Cole. Sheldon liked that. Sheldon and I are butting heads now that I've been letting Dylan do more. He keeps saying that Dylan's going to catch something and get sick."

"Well, as long as you keep him inside when his counts are low."

"I do, I wouldn't take him anywhere if his counts were low but get this; Sara came home from school with a cold the other day. I told her she had to stay in her room. Sheldon got upset. He said it wasn't fair to lock her up in her room, that we should make Dylan stay in his room."

Charlotte nods,"You think that's because Sara's his biological child and Dylan's not?"

"Yes." Amelia nods."It's not okay to keep Sara in her room a few days if she's got a cold but its okay to keep Dylan isolated all these months?"

"I see your point. So what ended up happening with the cold? Who did you isolate?" Charlotte asks.

"We couldn't agree. I sent Dylan to stay with Cole until Sara was over the cold but of course Sheldon didn't like that idea either."

Charlotte chuckles "Maybe Sheldon needs to go back to work and keep himself busy."

"I wish he would." Amelia sighs.

* * *

><p>Andie knocks on the door of the little cottage. Nicky answers. "What are you doing here so early, Belle? I'm just getting ready for work and shouldn't you be going to school?"<p>

Andie pushes her way in the door. "I have a few minutes."

Nicky looks at his watch."I've got just enough time for a quickie."

"I'm not here for that. Why didn't you tell me you got arrested for fighting with Spencer?"

"I know, you know, because your dad is the one who bailed me out."

"You didn't answer my question; why didn't _you_ call and tell me and ask me to post the bail?"

"You don't have that kind of money, you don't have a job." Nicky answers.

Andie stands with her hands on her hips. "Tell me why you didn't want me to know you were fighting with Spencer."

Nicky takes a deep breath and then sighs it out. "Because you told me not to fight him and I agreed not to."

Andie folds her arms against her chest. "But you went and did it anyway, even though I asked you not to and even though you said you would leave it alone."

"Sorry, Belle."

"You lied to me Nicky. I want to be able to trust you."

"You can trust me, Belle. I did it for you." He explains. "If that guy, Spencer just talked trash to you I would have left it alone but when you said he touched you, that he put his hand on your boob couldn't let that go."

"You could have gone to jail for premeditated assault. They knew you planned it. You followed him from the football field and the bumped his car on purpose to start in with him." Andie continues.

"Relax Belle, the DA called me they dropped the charges. I'm not going to jail."

"Do you want to know why they dropped the charges?" Andie asks.

"I was wondering about that." Nicky scratches his head.

"They dropped the charges because I went to see Spencer in his hospital room yesterday. I threatened him that I would charge him with assault for grabbing my boob. I'm pretty sure that's against the law. That's why he dropped the charges."

"Thanks for having my back, Belle."

"I have your back and you have mine. I get that's how relationships work but please if I tell you not to do something listen to me. I'm usually right."

"Yes ma'am." Nicky salutes her as a joke.

"I have to go to school now." Andie turns to leave,

"Wait a second. Don't I get a kiss?"

"I'm still mad at you."

He pulls her in close for a hug. "I'm sorry. I promise to listen to you next time."

She lets him kiss her. When they're done he asks her. "I thought you didn't want to go back to school now that everyone knows you're dating your cousin?"

"I'm not dating my cousin." She dshoots. "Danielle's going to tell everyone that she made it up about me dating my cousin."

"No kidding? You and Danielle made up?"

"As long as she keeps up her promise and tells everyone it was a rumor. I told that dude Spencer about the rumor too, so know he knows that we're not cousins." Andie walks out the door towards her car.

"Uh…Belle." Nicky calls out to her as she walks away.

"What?" Andie turns around.

"We _are_ cousins. It _isn't_ a rumor." Nicky reminds her.

"Nobody needs to know that." She gets in the car and drives away.

* * *

><p>Charlotte picks Marley and Noah up after school. She gives them a ride to the hospital so they can visit Dylan. Drew's with them too.<p>

After they arrive , Noah pushes open the door to Dylan's hospital room. They all gasp when they see Amelia lying in Dylan's hospital bed with Cole kissing her.

Cole looks up at them. "You could've knocked, Charlotte."

Noah answers. "I opened the door, not my momma, I'm sorry."

"How could you do this to me, daddy?" Marley cries out.

"I didn't do anything to you, Marley." Cole looks at his thirteen year old daughter.

"How could you do this to mom?" Marley's clearly horrified.

"Your mother filed for divorce, Marles, your mom filed for the divorce papers, not me." Cole tells it like it is.

Marley walks hastily down the corridor, crying. Noah chases after her.

Five year old Drew asks. "Why are you sitting in Dylan's bed?"

"Uh…Uh…It's more comfortable than the chair." Amelia answers.

"Can I try?" Dylan takes a running leap onto the bed and jumps onto Cole. "Hi."

"Hi." Cole tells Drew. "I better get going." He avoids eye contact with Charlotte and walks out of the room.

Charlotte starts to say something.

"Don't even start." Amelia tells her.

"I wasn't going to. I was just going to ask where Dylan is." Charlotte asks.

"Cole and I sent him down to the teen room."

Drew asks Amelia "Why were you kissing Marley's dad?"

"I wasn't." Amelia doesn't know what to say.

"I saw you." Drew jumps on the bed.

"We were playing a game." She tells Drew.

"What kind of a game?" Drew asks.

Amelia thinks quick. "I had the last piece of grape gum. Marley's dad wanted it so I told him if he could get it out of my mouth he could keep the gum."

Charlotte rolls her eyes.

Drew asks. "Like playing bobbing for apples?"

"Something, like that." Amelia nods.

"Who won?" Drew asks.

"Who won what?"

"Who won the grape gum game?"

"I did, of course." Amelia answers.

"Where's the gum?"

"I swallowed it."

"You're going to get a tummy ache if you swallowed gum. My momma says you shouldn't swall…-"

"Charlotte!" Amelia barks. "Are you just going to stand there and listen?"

"We're going. We're going." Charlotte smirks, holding out her hand for Drew to grab. "C'mon, Squirt." Charlotte laughs to herself as she walks out of the room with Drew.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	62. Chapter 62

_**CHAPTER 62**_

* * *

><p>Marley runs down the hospital corridor with Noah following close behind. She runs into the ladies room. Noah stops and looks around. He opens the door. "Is anyone in here?"He calls out.<p>

"It's just me." Marley sniffles back her tears.

Dylan bursts through the bathroom door behind Noah.

Noah turns around to look at Dylan. "What are you doing in here?"

"This is the ladies room, dude. Can't you read?" Dylan holds the door open, pointing at the sign.

"I know it's the ladie's room. I followed Marley in here."

"Oh...oh. I'll give you some privacy then." Dylan turns to leave.

"I didn't come in here to get privacy with Marley. I followed her in here because she's upset." Noah tells his friend who's also Marley's half brother.

Dylan looks at Marley now. "What's wrong, Marles?"

Marley sniffles again before telling her brother. "We went in your room to visit you. We caught daddy kissing your mom in your hopital bed."

Dylan's eyes pop. "My mom and my dad were kissing in my bed?"

"Aha." Noah nods in agreement. "We caught them red handed, or red-lipped, I should say." Noah's the only one to find the comedy in his humor.

"So, my mom's cheating on Sheldon?" Dylan asks Marley. "And dad's cheating on _your_ mother?"

"According to daddy, it's okay because my mother already filed the divorce papers." Marley wipes her nose with a paper towel.

"He's right, Marles." Dylan tells her." If they're getting divorced, it's not cheating."

Marley raises her voice in exacerbation. "I don't want them to get divorced! I want them to work it out!" Marley pleads. "But how can they work it out if he's kissing your mother?"

Dylan offers a heartfelt confession... "I used to dream about this happening when I was little. I dreamed that one day I could have both my parents together like you and Cole Jr. always had."

"You're getting your wish." Marley snaps at him.

"They were only kissing." Noah adds "It's not like we caught them having sex. It might turn out to be nothing."

"I could really use a joint now." Marley tells the two boys.

"You guys have to wait for me to get discharged before you smoke the rest of the weed." Dylan tells them. They all turn to look when they hear the bathroom door open.

"Mom, what are you doing in here?" Marley asks Jolie.

Jolie looks at all three of them. "Uhm... I'm a lady and this is the ladies room. What are you boys doing in here?" Jolie asks Noah and Dylan.

Marley answers first. "I was crying. They came in to check on me."

"Why were you crying, Sweetie?"

Marley tells her straight. "I saw daddy kissing Amelia. If you want him back you have to drop the divorce papers and tell him now."

"Oh Sweetie." Jolie gives her a hug. "I can't do that."

Marley cries on her mom's shoulders. "I want you and daddy to get back together."

"That's not happening, Marley." Jolie looks at Dylan and Noah. "Thank you both but I got it from here."

Noah and Dylan go back to the teen room to play video games.

"Why can't you and daddy at least try and work it out for me and Cole Jr?"

Jolie cups Marley's face in her hands. "We've been trying to do that for years, Sweetie."

"Since when?" Marley asks.

"From the beginning. I've always had to deal with the fact that daddy cheated on me with Amelia and Amelia got pregnant with Dylan because of it. That was always hard for me."

"Do you hate Dylan?" Marely asks her mother.

Jolie shakes her head. "Of course I don't hate Dylan. It's not his fault but Dylan is a constant reminder that daddy cheated on me." Jolie fixes Marley's hair as she speaks. "Daddy promised me that he loved me. He married me but I always had this feeling that if we didn't get married he would have married Amelia."

"Really?"

"I could be wrong but it's something that I thought about a lot over the years. It ate away at me until I couldn't take it anymore. I need to move on, Marley. This is probably the right time to tell you I'm dating a new doctor at the hospital."

"Who?" Marley wipes her tears.

"Dr. Stephan's, Dylan's oncologist." Jolie tells her.

"He's so young?"

"He's thirty." Jolie smiles. "Don't worry, he's legal."

"But you're forty-five. That's a big difference."

"Shhh... don't tell anyone I'm forty-five." Jolie teases. "That's our secret. Everyone else thinks I'm twenty five." Jolie winks at her daughter in an attempt to cheer her up.

"You're lucky, mom. You look so young and pretty."

"Not as pretty as you." Jolie braides Marley's long dark hair.

Marely watches her mother braid her hair in the mirror. "Does daddy know you're dating Dylan's oncologist?" Marley asks.

"I didn't tell him _but_ at this hospital the gossip flies fast. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows."

* * *

><p>Charlotte knocks and enters Dylan's room. "I'm looking for Noah and Marely." Charlotte tells Amelia.<p>

"I think they're still in the teen room." Amelia sits in Dylan's hospital bed watching TV.

"Where's the little devil?" Amelia asks.

"Cooper took him home."

"Why? Was he driving you nuts too?" Amelia chuckles.

"You're talking about my son, my child, Amelia." Charlotte warns. Truth be told, Drew is a little hyper but Charlotte still doesn't appreciate the way Sheldon and Amelia constantly poke fun at her youngest son.

"Sheldon thinks Drew has ADHD." Amelia shoots.

Charlotte replies "And I think Sheldon is a crotchety old man who gives out unsolicited advice."

"Sheldon may be a crotchety old man but he's a good shrink. He's evaluated tons of kids for ADHD over the years."

Charlotte retorts. "Cooper's a pediatrician. He disagrees with Sheldon. Drew's just an active little boy. He'll calm as he grows."

"Good luck with that." Amelia smirks.

Charlotte looks at Amelia a minute then asks. "Are you gonna tell me why you were kissing Cole in my hospital _or_ would you rather sit there and pick on my six-year-old son all day?"

"You win. Sit down." Amelia taps the bed.

"Tell me." Charlotte wears a devious grin. "I'm dying to know."

Amelia shrugs. "Sheldon and I have been sleeping in separate rooms since the custody hearing."

"Really?" Charlotte's surprised.

Amelia starts explaining. "We haven't been on the same page about anything lately. We fight over everything."

"I see." Charlotte sits and listens.

Amelia continues. "Then, Cole came in to see Dylan today. Dylan was in the teen room. Cole started flirting with me, like Cole does with every other woman that has a heartbeat. I played along with it this time. I don't know why." Amelia shrugs. "I knew it was wrong but I got caught up in it. I flirted back and the next thing I know I'm locking lips with him."

"Is that it?" Charlotte's disappointed. "Just one kiss? The one we all saw?"

"That's it but I _liked_ it. I really liked it." Amelia sighs. "I liked it so much I can't stop thinking about it. I want more."

"So, what are you going to do?"

Amelia holds up a key. "Cole gave me this spare key to his apartment. Marley and Cole Jr. are staying with Jolie this week and obviously Dylan's staying in the hospital. Cole told me I should come over."

"Are you going to?"

"I want to. Sheldon will think I'm staying overnight at the hospital with Dylan. I could slip out for a few hours when Dylan's asleep."

"Sounds like you have a plan." Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

Amelia hesitates."But I don't want to hurt Sheldon. I keep hearing this little voice in my head that says; _Don't do this, Amelia... _Sheldon's been good to me, I want Cole but I don't want to hurt Sheldon." Amelia's clearly frustrated. "What do I do. Charlotte?"

"Sheldon can be crotchety." Charlotte answers. "But he's a good man. I don't want to see him hurt."

Amelia responds, "Sheldon can't be hurt if he doesn't know about it. I just want one night, Charlotte. All I'm asking for is one night of unbelievable sex. I know Cole can give it to me. The man is still smokin' hot after all these years."

Charlotte smirks. "Especially when he wears his wranglers and cowboy boots."

"Yes!" Amelia grins and knows Charlotte gets it.. "Yes, yes, yes…he is sooo hot in those jeans. I just need one night of amazing sex and that's it. I don't want a relationship with Cole, just sex. So, what do you think?"

"Oh no," Charlotte shakes her head. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. This is all up to you."

* * *

><p>Andie gets up to answer the door. "Nicky!" She smiles and lets him in. He hands her a bouquet of flowers. "I'm sorry for almost going to prison and leaving you alone in the world."<p>

"Thank you." She takes the flowers and goes to grab the envelope in his hand.

"Not yours." He pulls the envelope away. "This envelope is for your dad."

"Are you trying to woo my daddy?" Andie teases.

"It's a card for two free meals at Giorgio's. I'm giving it to him as a thank you for posting my bail. I'm still going to pay him back but I figured this will hold him over until then."

Cooper walks in the door with Drew. "What are you doing here, Nicky?" Cooper doesn't look happy.

"This is for you. Take your wife out to dinner." He hands Cooper the envelope.

"Thank you. Well, if that's it, you can leave now." Cooper stretches his arm out towards the door.

"Daddy that's rude. Nicky just gave you a gift."

"I said thank you and now he can leave." Cooper answers.

"What's your problem with Nicky? You said the cousin thing doesn't bother you."

"I don't have a problem with the _cousin thing_." Cooper tells Andie while Nicky stands there and listens. "I have a problem with the _age thing_ and the uncontrollable_ temper thing._" Cooper asserts.

"Daddy, Nicky's only three years older than me. You're five years older than momma."

"Age makes a difference at your age. You're seventeen years old. You should be going to the mall and movies with other seventeen-year-old girls."

"I don't want to do that." Andie shrugs.

Cooper lectures her. "You should be playing Lacrosse or soccer in school with your friends. You should be in drama club or the marching band. You should _not_ be hanging out with a twenty one year old man at his cottage. I'm sorry, Andy Candie, but I can't be supportive of this relationship anymore. Your mother's right, I need to be your father, _NOT_ your friend."

"Did momma put you up to this?"

"No, momma did not put me up to this."

Cooper looks at Nicky. "Let me ask you this, Nicky; what did you do when you were a seventeen year old in high school. Were you in any clubs?"

Nicky thinks before answering honestly. "I played the trumpet in the school marching band and I always played guitar with my band in the garage."

"What else?" Cooper asks Nicky. "Any other school clubs?"

"I was on the debate team." Nicky tells him. "I was pretty good; the guidance counselor told me I would make a great lawyer."

"Why didn't you go to law school then?"

"I wanted to follow my dream to be rock star."

"What else did you do in high school?" Cooper asks Nicky. Andie listens with her hands positioned on her hips, obviously annoyed about this inquisition.

"Just the stuff I told you, but mostly I practiced with my band in the garage." Nicky shrugs. "I took voice lessons and guitar lesson's as a kid too."

"What about girls? Did you date?" Cooper asks.

"Yeah, I dated girls."

"Anyone serious while you were in high school?" Cooper raises his eyebrows.

Nicky shrugs "I dated this girl, Ashely, for about a year in high school."

"How old was she?"

"Same age as me." Nicky answers. "I think we were sixteen."

"Did you date anyone else?"

"I dated a few other girls during my senior year in high school."

"Were any of them older than you? Were any of them already high school graduates when you dated them?"

"No"

Cooper tries to make a point. "So, let me see if I got this right, when _you_ were in high school; _you_ were on the debate team, _you_ were in the marching band and _you_ dated girls your own age." Cooper clarifies.

Nicky shrugs. "Yeah."

Cooper emphasizes to Nicky, "All my daughter does is go to school and hang out with you! She doesn't belong to any clubs. She quit the Lacrosse team when she started dating you. She doesn't go shopping with other girls because she's always with _you_." Cooper goes on.

"Stop it, daddy, that's not true. I have Danielle."

"Who you hardly ever see anymore since you've been dating Nicky." Cooper accuses.

Andie protests, "That's not true. Danielle was hanging out with these stuck up girls. I was hanging out with Tyler. It's not Nicky's fault."

Cooper looks Nicky in the eye, "Think about it. Andie's not going to get these years back, In another year she'll go to college and then have to find a job. These are _her_ years to be a teen. Do you really want to take it away from her?"

"He's not taking it away from me, daddy. _I want to be_ with Nicky."

Cooper reminds Andie, "Nicky is twenty-one. You should be around people your own age."

"I'm going to leave now." Nicky walks towards the door.

"Wait! I'm going to go with you." Andie grabs her purse.

Nicky turns to her. "No, stay here. I've ruined your life enough already." He walks out the door.

"Daddy?" Andie looks at Cooper.

"It's all true, Andie. You're not going to get these years back. I don't want you missing out on your last year of high school."

"But I don't care about any of that stuff. I just want Nicky." Andie pleads. "Why can't you understand that, daddy?"

"I'm not going to try to be your friend anymore, Andie, I'm your father."

Andie squints her eyes and clenches her jaw tight. She glares at Cooper. "Don't you dare ever speak to me again!" Andie stomps up the steps.

A little voice echoes out from behind the stairs "I still love you, Daddy." Drew says.

"Good, come give me a hug, Squirt." Cooper holds his arms out to Drew. Drew runs into Cooper's arms.

"Why don't you like Nicky, daddy?"

Cooper looks at Drew. "I like Nicky."

"Then why did he leave? Why is Andie so mad at you?"

Cooper hugs Drew. "It's hard to explain, Drew. Your momma was right."

"About what?" Drew asks.

"Being a parent is hard."

"Why?" Drew asks.

"Well, it's not always fun. It's the hardest job in the world."

"I can help you!" Drew tells Cooper.

"How?" Cooper furrows his brow.

"It's not that hard, daddy. Let Andie date Nicky then she'll be happy and talk to you."

"I wish it was that easy Drew but I want Andie to be a kid while she still is one. Time passes quickly. You can never get that time back. Right now, Andie can't see that she's missing out on the best years of her life in high school."

Charlotte walks in the door. She listens to Cooper and Drew talking on the couch.

"Kids just want to have fun, daddy, I know because I am a kid. If Andie has fun with Nicky you should let her."

"I want Andie to have fun doing things with her friends at school."

"_You_ think that's fun, daddy, _not_ Andie."

Cooper looks over and notices Charlotte. "How long have you been listening?" He asks his wife.

"Long enough to know... out of the mouth's of babes the truth is spoken." She raises her eyesbrows at Cooper. "The little guy gives good advice."

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	63. Chapter 63

_**CHAPTER 63**_

* * *

><p>It's early on a December Saturday, Cooper's flipping pancakes for breakfast. Chase makes himself a mug of hot chocolate. Noah bursts into the kitchen. "Are the pancakes done yet? I have fifteen minutes before Marley's dad will be here to pick me up."<p>

"Where are you going this early on a Saturday?" Chase asks his brother.

"Cole Jr. is playing in an amateur golf tournament in Monterrey. Me and Marley are going to watch, then her dad is going to take us to the Fisherman's Wharf."

"Lucky you."

"Can I have some money? I wanna do some Christmas shopping while I'm there."

Cooper puts a pancake on Noah's plate. "How much do you need?"

"That depends." Noah cuts up his pancake. "Do you want something good or do you want crap?"

Cooper shakes his head. "I'll give you one hundred but you have to buy something for each of your siblings and your mother."

"That comes out to twenty dollars I can spend on each of you. Expect crap." Noah sips his orange juice.

Charlotte sails into the kitchen. "We have fifteen minutes before we have to leave for work, Coop. Start flipping faster." She kisses his cheek.

"Yes, Chief."

Andie sits down at the table, yawning. She's still in her pajamas.

"Why are you up so early on a Saturday?" Chase asks Andie. "Where are _you_ going?"

"Nowhere." Andie grumps. "I have to watch Drew while they're at work." Andie's referring to her parents.

"I'm not doing anything today. I can watch Drew." Chase offers.

Cooper turns around. "I want Andie to watch Drew today."

Andie rolls her eyes.

Chase asks. "Why? I'll watch him."

Cooper responds with a firm voice. "I said I want Andie to watch Drew today."

Andie tells Chase. "Because he doesn't want me to go see Nicky today."

"Why?" Chase asks.

"I want Andie to have other interests besides Nicky." Cooper flips another pancake. "The same goes for you and Tess. I don't want you spending all your free time with Tess."

Chase just stares at Cooper. He doesn't want to give up Tess.

Noah calls out to Cooper. "Hit me with another pancake, Dude! I have to go soon."

"It's dad, not dude." Cooper corrects Noah.

"Since when?" Noah chuckles.

"I'm growing up." Cooper answers. He looks at Charlotte.

"What do you mean by you're growing up?" Chase asks.

"He's kiddin'." Charlotte cuts up her pancake.

"No, he's not." Andie tells Chase. "He considers his new role as our dictator to mean he's growing up."

"That's enough." Charlotte scolds Andie. "Apologize to your father. _NOW."_

_"_It's okay." Cooper tells Charlotte. "I'm a big boy. I can handle it."

Charlotte glares at Andie. "It's _not_ okay. It's disrespectful. Say sorry to your father."

Andie sighs. "Sorry, daddy."

Noah chuckles and tells Andie "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Andie Shmandy."

Drew sails into the kitchen and hops in his seat. "I want pancakes!" He calls out to Cooper who's still flipping them on the stove.

"Coming right up." Cooper flips a pancake onto Drew's plate earning himself applause.

Charlotte informs Drew. "It's your father's, and my, Saturday to work so your sister's going to be watching you today."

Drew asks Andie. "Can you take me to the mall to see Santa?"

Charlotte puts her coffee down. "I just took you to see Santa the other day."

"I thought of something else I really want." Excitement echoes from Drew's voice.

"Just put it on your list." Chase tells his little brother.

"I already sent my list. If I send a new one it might not get to the North Pole in time."

Cooper finally gets a chance to sit down and eat his pancakes. "Hanukkah is coming up soon, Squirt, maybe you could ask for this other thing for a Hanukkah gift."

"Oh yeah. I forgot. But can you still take me to see Santa, Andie? I like the goody bags he gives out."

A horn beeps outside. Noah gets up. "That's my ride. See ya!"

Charlotte looks at her watch before putting her plate in the sink. "We better go now too, Coop."

Cooper stuffs his pancake in his mouth before he gets up to follow Charlotte.

* * *

><p>Andie knocks loudly on the door of Nicky's cottage. Drew stands on the steps and waits with her until Nicky answers. Nicky's wearing a t shirt with sweat pants. His dark hair that usually falls neatly to his shoulders is a mess. It's clear they woke him up. He yawns. Andie snickers at how adorable he looks standing there.<p>

"What's with the minion?" Nicky refers to Drew, who's standing at his sister's side.

"My parents both had to go to the hospital for morning rounds, so I'm stuck with him." Drew bolts through the door of the cottage and starts jumping on Nicky's couch.

Nicky calls out to Drew. "If you _must_ do that, at least, take your sneakers off."

Andie yells at her youngest brother, "Knock it off, Rat! Sit your little butt down on the couch and watch TV while I talk to Nicky."

Nicky heckles sarcastically. "Your gonna be a great mom some day."

Andie smiles at the thought of her and Nicky having kids in the future.

Nicky asks her. "What are you doing here so early on a Saturday, one of the only days of the week I can sleep in?"

"It's nine am, it's not that early. I need to talk to you about last night." Andie tells him.

"What do you need to talk about?"

"Tell me you're not going to listen to my dad and stay away from me for his sake?"

Drew yells out to his big sister."I told daddy to let you and Nicky have fun!"

"Thanks Drew," Andie answers back. "Now watch the TV and mind your own business."

Nicky tells Andie. "I'm not doing it for your dad's sake. I don't owe your dad anything besides the bail he posted for me. I'm doing for your sake."

"I don't understand. I _want_ to be with you."

Nicky explains. "Your dad's right. You should have friends your own age, all you do besides school is hang with me. You used to play on the Lacrosse team before we started dating."

"I'd rather be with you than play Lacrosse. It's my choice."

"Andie, you should be making high school memories. You should be going to school activities and football games; all that kind of stuff."

Andie suggests. "What if I agree to do some of that stuff? If I join an activity and go to the socials will you stay with me?"

Nicky thinks. "You have to make some friends that you can hang out with, besides Danielle. She's going to Yale soon."

"Danielle and I plan to talk a lot when she goes to Yale." Andie adds

Drew runs over to them. "Sara's on the swing." He points outside the door. "Can I go play with Sara?"

"Have fun, Squirt."

Nicky bargains with Andie. "You have to join Lacrosse again."

"It's too late. They already have a team, but I could join the drama club. They're having auditions for the school play next week."

Nicky asks, "Is that something you want to do?"

"Yeah." Andie shrugs. "Will it make you happy if I hang out with Danielle more and join the drama club?"

Nicky pulls her in close. "Let me show you how happy it'll make me." He kisses her.

* * *

><p>Drew jumps on the swing next to Sara. "I can swing higher than you!" He pushes off with his feet and pumps his legs.<p>

"Nu...uh." Sara pumps her legs harder, racing to go the highest. "Look!" Sara points out. "Your sister is gooey kissing with Nicky."

"So?" Drew pumps his legs hard and fast. He can't let Sara swing higher than him.

"Gooey kissing is gross." Sara scowls.

"I saw your mommy gooey kissing Dylan's dad at the hospital. They were in Dylan's bed. She told me he was trying to get gum out of her mouth."

"Nu…uh." Sara says. "I don't believe you."

"I saw her, I swear."

"Liar!" Sara accuses.

"I'm not lying." Drew defends. "Ask my momma or Noah or Marley, they saw them gooey kissing too."

"I'm telling my dad on you! You're a liar." Sara jumps off her swing. She runs toward her back door to look for Sheldon.

Drew jumps off his swing to follow Sara. He falls hard on his elbow and lets out a loud high pitched scream. Sara runs back to see what happened. Andie and Nicky run towards the swing set. Drew's screaming out loud in pain. "AGGGHH!... AGGGHHHH!... AGGHHHH!" He screetches.

Nicky runs up to him. "What's wrong, little man? What hurts?"

Drew cries. "My arm! I want momma!"

Nicky picks Drew up to look at his arm.

Andie looks at too. She tries to bend it. Drew shrieks even louder. "AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Tears stream down his cheeks. "Don't touch it! I want momma!"

Sheldon walks briskly towards the group from his back door. "What seems to be the trouble?"

Andie answers. "We think Drew may have a broken arm. Can you look at it?"

"I'm a psychiatrist. I can't tell you if a bone is broken. You have to take him to the ER." Sheldon advices.

"I'm not doctor." Nicky replies," But just by looking at it, I can tell it's broken. Look how it's twisted. That ain't right."

Sheldon looks at Sara. "Tell me exactly how this happened." Sheldon's a little nervous about liability since they were playing on his property. "How did he hurt his arm, Sara?"

Sara explains while drew cries in Nicky's arms. "Me and Drew were racing to see who could swing the highest."

Sheldon corrects. "Drew and _I_ were racing to see who could go the highest."

"No you weren't." Sara scrunches up her nose. "You were in the house. I was racing with Drew."

Sheldon sighs. "Never mind. Continue, Sara."

"We saw Andie and Nicky kissing. I told Drew that it was gross."

Sheldon looks over at Andie. "Sorry, about that."

Sara continues to talk. "Then, Drew said he saw mommy gooey kissing Dylan's dad in Dylan's hospital bed. I told him he was a liar but he kept saying it was true. He said I could even ask his momma about it. I didn't believe him so I jumped off my swing to tell you. Drew copied me and jumped off his swing and fell on his arm."

Sheldon furrows his brow. "Were you telling the truth about Sara's mommy, young man?" Was she really kissing Dylan's father?"

"Yes." Drew answers. "My arm hurts! I want my momma!"

"I'll text my momma to meet us in the ER." Andie pulls out her phone.

Nicky offers. "I'll drive. You can sit in the backseat with Drew."

Nicky carries Drew to the car.

Sheldon looks down at little Sara. "Your mother's got some explaining to do."

"Can we go to the hospital, daddy? I want to see mommy and visit Dylan and make sure that Drew's okay." Sara asks.

"Come on." Sheldon takes his almost six year old daughter by the hand.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_

_To Carlynn: We'll see Cole Jr come into the story in another week or so. He has a smaller part. He doesn't usually hang with his siblings and their friends. But we will see him in this story. Danielle's graduating from high school early. She'll be going to Yale after the holidays. She'll still be a part of the story (phone calls, visits). Danielle ditched Brittany and Ashley after the incident with Andie. Thanks for reading/reviewing. =)  
><em>


	64. Chapter 64

_**CHAPTER 64**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte waits by the ER entrance. Nicky carries a crying Drew towards her. Andie's right behind him.<p>

"I got your text to meet you here. What happened?" Charlotte rushes over to Andie and Drew.

"I think his arm is broken, momma."

Charlotte examines Drew's elbow. "It's fractured. I called your dad after I got your text. He's going to meet us in the ER."

"Momma! Momma!" Drew screams for Charlotte to hold him.

Nicky hands Drew over to Charlotte. Charlotte says to Andie. "That's a nasty break. How did he do it?"

Nicky answers first. "He jumped off the swing and landed on it."

Cooper rushes up to them. "What happened?"

"Drew fractured his elbow." Charlotte glances at Cooper.

"How?"

"Jumpin' off a swing. He landed on it" Charlotte rubs Drew's back as he rests his head on his momma's shoulder.

"Weren't you watching him?" Cooper questions Andie.

"I was watching him, daddy. I just turned my head to talk to Nicky a minute." Andie doesn't tell them she was actually kissing Nicky when it happened.

"Why is _he_ here?" Cooper asks Andie, referring to Nicky.

"He was helping me with Drew. He drove us here."

Cooper deadpans. "I told you I wanted you to watch Drew today. Why was _he_ even around?" Cooper asks referring to Nicky.

"I went to the cottage to talk to Nicky. Drew was playing with Sara on the swings. It was an accident."

Cooper shoots Andie a fierce look which she hasn't seen before from her father's eyes. "I asked you to watch your little brother. You should _NOT_ have taken him to see Nicky."

"It was an accident dad." Andie snaps.

"Great job keeping an eye on your brother while fooling around with your boyfriend." Cooper's voice is sarcastic.

"That's enough." Charlotte orders Cooper. "This isn't the time."

Andie tells her momma. "I'll call you later to check on Drew." Andie grabs Nicky by the arm. "Let's go."

Andie and Nicky walk towards the exit, holding hands. "I can't believe my dad is blaming me for this. Drew's an accident waiting to happen. I'm surprised he went this long without breaking a bone, but now this is all my fault according to my dad."

"I don't think your dad blames you for Drew's broken arm. Your dad's mad because you were with me."

"Too bad. He better learn to love it cuz I'm never leaving you." They walk out the exit.

* * *

><p>Amelia pokes her head in Drew's exam room. "I heard what happened. Sheldon's bringing Sara up to see Drew. Sara thinks it's her fault Drew broke his arm."<p>

"Why does she think that?" Charlotte asks

"Sheldon said the kids were arguing and Drew jumped off the swing to stop her from telling Sheldon on him."

Charlotte nods. "Drew should be back soon. Cooper took him to have an x-ray. I elected to stay here. I can't bear to hear him scream when they move the arm around to do the x-rays. It's a bad fracture."

"It's funny how you can help other patients but when it's your own child you can't deal."

"I know.' Charlotte nods. "I can't listen to the poor thing screamin' for me when there's nothing I can do to help him."

"Poor kid." Amelia offers.

Charlotte tells Amelia. "I broke four bones by the time I turned twelve. I guess Drew must take after me."

Amelia nods. "Drew's almost six, this is fracture number one, you have three more to go before he's twelve."

Charlotte looks up to the ceiling. "Lord, help me."

Amelia laughs.

Charlotte changes the subject. "So, what did you decide to do last night? Did you stay at the hospital or go scratch your itch with Cole?"

"Let's just say I'm feeling amazingly well this morning." Amelia gives Charlotte a sly smile.

"You didn't?" Charlotte stares.

Amelia smiles. "I did and it was better than I remembered. I haven't been with Cole since I got pregnant with Dylan."

"It was better than it was thirteen years ago? That man must age like fine wine." Charlotte jokes.

"I don't know if the sex was that much better or I was just rusty. Sheldon and I haven't screwed in months."

"You said it was just going to be for the one time. Are you sticking to that _or_ was it so good that you're going to go back for more?"

Before Amelia could answer there's a knock on the door.

"Come in." Charlotte calls out.

Sheldon walks in with Sara. "Where's Drew?" He scans the exam room with his eyes.

"He's having an x-ray. You're welcome to wait." Charlotte tells Sheldon and Sara.

Amelia looks at her daughter who happens to be a mini version of Amelia. "What happened, sweetie? Why were you arguing with Drew before he got hurt?"

"Drew called you gross." Sara shoots. "So, I got mad."

Amelia screws up her face. "Why would Drew say I'm gross?"

"Drew said he saw you gooey kissing Dylan's dad. I told him he was a liar but he kept saying it was true." Sara tells Amelia.

Charlotte looks at Amelia, wondering how her friend's going to get out of this one?

Sheldon pipes in. "Please mommy, tell us. Was Drew telling the truth or is it a lie?"

Amelia takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Drew was telling the truth."

"Why were you gooey kissing Dylan's dad, mommy?" Sara wonders.

Sheldon's voice is sarcastic. "Yes mommy, please tell us."

Amelia answers, looking at Sara, not Sheldon. "It was wrong for me to kiss Cole, but mommy was lonely and needed a friend and Cole was nice to me." Now Amelia looks at Sheldon.

Sheldon glares into Amelia's eyes. "Goodbye Amelia."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out." Sheldon turns to look at his young daughter. "Come on, daddy's going to take you home now, Sara."

"But I want to stay and see Drew and I want to visit Dylan in his room. You promised I could."

Cooper waltzes in the room with Drew who's sporting a red and green striped cast.

"Wow! I love your cast." Sara runs over to look at it. "It looks like a fruit flavor candy cane."

"I could have got red and white to look like a candy cane but I liked the red and green better." Drew's proud of his cast.

Sara tells Drew. "I wish I could have a cast."

Cooper chuckles. "Casts aren't as fun as they look. Drew will let you know that when he can't play rock, paper, scissors with you with his cast on."

"Yeah, it looks fun but it's not." Drew tells Sara. "I can't bend my arm in the cast."

Sara gives Drew a kiss on the lips.

"Ew!" Drew wipes his mouth with his other arm. "Why did you do that, Sara?"

"I wanted to be nice to you cuz you got hurt and I'm your friend." Sara shrugs.

Cooper grins. "Isn't that adorable?"

They all look at a clueless Cooper. Sheldon shakes his head annoyed. "Okay, Sara you got to see Drew, now let's go home."

"But what about mommy and Dylan? I want to stay with them."

"Not today, Sara."

Amelia asks Sheldon. "What are you doing? If Sara wants to stay with me and Dylan at the hospital, then let her."

"I won't have you poisoning my daughter's mind and I won't subject her to your gooey kissing with your boyfriend."

"I already explained why it happened." Amelia defends.

"Yes. You were loney and he was nice. I got that." Sheldon's voice is agitated. "But that is...-

Cooper interrupts. "Uhm…I don't know what's going on with you two but I do know that there are children in the room."

"I have an idea." Charlotte looks at Amelia and Sheldon. "Why don't I give the two of you a break and take Sara for a while. I was planning to take Drew out for some ice cream after he got his cast on."

"Yay! Ice cream!' Drew and Sara both shout.

"Ice cream always make broken arms feel better." Cooper tousles Drew hair.

"That's fine." Amelia tells Charlotte. "Sara would love to go with you and Drew."

Charlotte looks at Sheldon. "Well Sheldon? Is that okay with you?"

"Please daddy, I want to go with Drew and his momma for ice cream." Sara pleads.

"Fine." Sheldon agrees. He hugs and kisses Sara goodbye, then tells Charlotte. "I want you to bring Sara straight home to me after the ice cream."

Charlotte raises her eyebrows at Amelia.

"It's fine, Charlotte." Amelia nods.

Charlotte and Cooper leave with the kids to get ice cream.

Drew and Sara get to sit at their own table at the ice cream shop.

Cooper brings Charlotte her ice cream and sits down across from her. "What was that all about with Sheldon and Amelia?

"Apparently, they haven't been getting along since Dylan got sick. Amelia's been sleeping in the guest room. Cole got all flirty with her, like he does with all women, she flirted back and one thing led to another and…-"

"Let me guess…Amelia ended up in Cole's bed."

"Yep." Charlotte nods.

Cooper reaches across the table and gives Charlotte a kiss while she tries to eat her ice cream. "What are ya doin'?" She laughs. "Are you bonkers? There's kids buzzin' all over this place."

He smiles. "I'm just happy we're not Sheldon and Amelia or Jolie and Cole."

Charlotte spoons her ice cream in her mouth. "Amen to that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Don't forget to leave a review! =)<strong>_


	65. Chapter 65

_**CHAPTER 65**_

* * *

><p>It's Sunday afternoon, Noah's playing Yahtzee with Lila and Marley at Marley's house.<p>

"Dylan just texted me that his dad is dropping him off here in five minutes." Lila announces to her friends.

Jolie pours a bag of chips in a large bowl for the teens to munch on while they play. They each take a handful. Jolie's happy to see Lila reach in for a handful too, given her history of anorexia. "Marley's dad is on his way here now? Jolie asks Lila.

"He's just dropping Dylan off, then he's leaving." Lila tells Jolie.

Marley rolls her eyes. "My mom's freaking out because her new boyfriend is picking her up to go out to lunch in five minutes."

"I'm not freaking out, Marley." Jolie flattens out her short red dress. "Your father and I are getting divorced. I'm free to date."

The doorbell rings. Tyler comes out of his room wearing a dress shirt with a jacket and khaki's. He answers the door."Hey dad! Hey bro!" Tyler hand slaps Cole and Dylan.

"Why are you dressed up?" Cole asks his oldest son.

"I have a hot date and I can't be late." Tyler puts his shoes on.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Cole asks.

"Her name's Allison. I met her at UCLA."

"Where are you going?" Cole asks.

"First to the Museum of Contemporary Art, then out to lunch, and then to the theater to see Wicked."

"Sounds like you have a busy day planned with this Allison." Cole tells his oldeset son.

Jolie walks over to greet Dylan without looking at her soon to be ex, Cole."You look well, Dylan." Jolie smiles. "I heard you're finished with chemo."

"Yesterday was my last dose. I was discharged from the hospital this morning." Dylan explains. He wears a Fedora to cover up his bald head. "I can't wait until I don't need to wear this anymore."

"I like the Fedora." Lila says, licking the salt off of a potato chip but not eating it.

"Why are _you_ all dressed up?" Cole asks Jolie. He checks out her hourglass figure in the short red dress.

Jolie has to look at her future ex-husband now. "I have a lunch date." Jolie shoots and looks away.

Cole clears his throat and swallows. "Do you think you could cancel it?" Everyone turns to look at Cole.

"Why?" Jolie asks.

"I have to work at the pharmacy today. They're short staffed and since I'm the boss. I have to go in. I'd rather not leave Dylan alone. He was just discharged from the hospital." Cole explains.

"He's not going to be alone, dad." Marley answers, crunching on her potato chips. "He'll be with me, Noah and Lila."

"I meant he'll be without an adult." Cole tells his thirteen year old daughter.

"I'm almost fourteen, dad." Dylan tells Cole." I don't need a babysitter." Dylan munches on some chips.

Jolie puts her hands on her hips. "Call Amelia to watch him, she's his mother."

"Amelia took Sara to a birthday party."

"Let me get this straight." Jolie says. "You want me to cancel my date to watch your son while his mother is at a party?" Before Cole can respond Jolie goes into the kitchen to answer the phone.

The doorbell rings, Marley rushes to answer it. She lets Dr. Scott Stephan's in. He's Jolie's date and Dylan's oncologist. Cole shakes his hand. "Scott, what are you doing here?"

"I'm picking up Jolie for lunch." Scott tells Cole.

Cole's surprised "You're my wife's date?"

Scott furrows his brow. "You mean your ex-wife?"

Cole answers. "No, I mean my wife. We haven't signed the papers yet."

Scott turns his attention to Dylan. "I see you're having some fun with your friends since I sprung you from the hospital."

"Aha." Dylan answers. "Can you tell my dad that I'm fine? He's afraid to leave me alone with my friends and sister."

Scott looks at Cole. "Dylan's fine, his counts are good. There's no reason you can't leave him with his friends and sister. They're old enough to pick up a phone if a problem should come up."

"Thank you, Dr. Stephans." Dylan says.

Jolie walks out of the kitchen and gives Scott a quick kiss hello on the lips. "You look great." He tells her. Cole rolls his eyes.

Jolie tells the kids. "I shouldn't be gone too long. We're just having lunch together and then Scott has to be back at St. Ambrose for his afternoon rounds."

"I'm happy not to be one of your patients today." Dylan tells Scott with a smile.

"I'm happy for you too, Dylan." Scott nods.

Marley hugs Jolie goodbye.

"Have a good time, mom." Marley hugs her mom before Jolie and Scott leave. Cole waits for them to pull out of the driveway before he leaves too.

"Wow. That was awkward." Tyler tells the group of young teens.

"I'm happy." Marley tells her older brother. "I could tell daddy isn't happy about mom dating Dr. Stephans."

Dylan's disappointed. "I still want him and my mother to get together."

"Wish I could stay and chat with you guys." Tyler tells them. "But, I'm going to be late for a date." Tyler grabs his keys before walking out the door.

"Good, now we can celebrate Dylan's last round of chemo the proper way." Lila pulls a bag of weed out of her pocket. She lights up a joint, takes a puff and passes it to Dylan.

Marley asks. "I thought you promised your dad you were going to stop?"

"What Pete don't know can't hurt him." Lila smirks. "And Pete don't know. Are you all in?"

"I'm into celebrating my last round of chemo." Dylan takes a drag off the joint and passes it to Noah.

Noah takes the joint from Dylan."One last time to celebrate Dylan being done with chemo." Noah puffs on the joint and then passes it to Marley. Marley smokes the joint, then passes it back to Lila.

Lila pulls more marijuana and paper out of the plastic bag. "I'll roll another one."

Marley watches Lila roll the joint. "You're getting really good at that."

Dylan takes another drag of the joint before opening up to his friends. "I still hope my mom and dad will get together. I think they'd make a cool couple."

Marley takes a drag of the joint Lila just rolled for her. "Not me. I want my parents to get back together."

"Let's change the topic." Noah suggests before puffing on the joint. "Let's talk video games."

Dylan pipes in, "I hope my dad got me that new Mario Kart game that just came out."

"Don't get your hopes up." Marley warns him as she takes a drag. "Dad went all over searching for it. He's on the waiting list but it's not due to come in for another month."

"Dang!" Dylan takes another drag.

Noah takes a drag now. "My dad got it for Drew yesterday after he broke his arm."

"How did your dad get it?" Lila asks. She licks a potato chip and then takes a drag.

"My dad has connections with the owner of the video store." Noah says.

"So, your brother has the new Mario Kart 12 game already?" Dylan asks.

"Yep." Noah takes a drag."I was playing it with him last night."

"Do you think he'll let us play it if we can get a ride over to your house?" Dylan asks.

"Drew's not home. My parents took him to that birthday party that your mom and Sheldon took Sara too. It's some rich kid from their class. They're having some big bash for the kids sixth birthday." Noah explains.

"So, if we can get a ride to your house, we can play the new Mario game now?" Dylan clarifies.

"Yep"

"But, who's going to drive us?" Lila asks, licking the salt off a potato chip.

Dylan has an idea."I'll call Tyler. He just left. He couldn't have gotten too far." Dylan pulls out his phone and starts hitting the buttons.

Marley looks at the stack of licked potato chips in front of Lila. "Why do you lick them? Why don't you just eat them?"

Lila shrugs. "I get the taste without the calories. You should try it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marley asks defensively.

Lila explains. "I just meant I don't get why anybody would eat a potato chip and ingest all those extra calories when they can lick them and get the same taste."

"I like to crunch them. I like the way they crunch in my teeth." Noah tells her.

"Nah," Lila says. "It's not worth all the extra calories. I'd rather lick them."

Dylan hangs up. "Tyler said he'd do it but we have to be ready. He's filling up his car with gas and then he's going to come back here. He said to be ready when we hear him honk. He's late for a date."

They continue to smoke until they hear the horn honk. "Okay. We gotta roll. He's here." Dylan gets up and runs for the door followed by Noah. Marley stops to spray some air freshener while Lila cleans up her licked potato chips and throws them in the garbage. Tyler honks again. "C'mom, hurry!" Marley tells Lila and they run out of the house to Tyler's car.

* * *

><p>Cooper sits with Charlotte, Sheldon and Amelia at the birthday party. There are a dozen clowns around. One's painting faces, one's making animal balloons, one's dancing. Cooper watches. "I should be a clown. That's what I want to do when I retire."<p>

Charlotte rolls her eyes.

Cooper asks Sheldon "Ever think of becoming a clown? You're retired."

"I never considered it." Sheldon answers, watching the clowns.

"Clowns creep me out." Amelia tells them. "Especially those china clown dolls over there," she points. I keep thinking that one of them is going to come to life and start chasing us with a knife."

"Like Chucky." Cooper chuckles.

Drew comes running full force up to Charlotte and slams into her hard, hugging her. "Whoa Squirt, that hurt." Charlotte holds her chest.

"Speaking of Chucky." Sheldon raises his brows. He looks at Drew and then at Charlotte.

"If you've got something to say Sheldon then, say it." Charlotte deadpans.

"I just think Drew would benefit from a little medication." Sheldon advices. "Look at him. He broke his arm yesterday and here he is today running around like a wild man."

Cooper responds. "He's a boy. He's not even six yet. He doesn't need medication and I'd appreciate if you don't refer to my child as Chucky again."

"Thank you." Charlotte nods at Cooper.

Sheldon stands up. "I need to get some air."

"We're already outside." Amelia chuckles. "Where are you going to get air from?"

"I need a change of scenery." Sheldon walks away.

"What's his problem?" Cooper asks Amelia.

"He's still mad about my kiss with Cole." Amelia tells them.

"Daddy, can you come with me to get some cotton candy?" Drew asks. "I need a parents' permission to have some."

"Okay, let's go, Squirt." Cooper gets up with Drew to get the cotton candy.

Charlotte asks Amelia, "So, is Sheldon upset about just the kiss or did you tell him you spent the night at Cole's apartmentl?"

"I couldn't tell him I had sex with Cole." Amelia explains. "He was ready to divorce me over the kiss. I talked to him about it and he's calmed down now. We're actually able to be civil with each other." Amelia watches Sheldon walk Sara to the cotton candy machine and get in line behind Cooper and Drew. "He's probably telling Cooper not to buy cotton candy for Drew."

"Why?" Charlotte asks.

"He's probably telling him the sugar will make Drew more hyper."

"Don't you be surprised if Cooper gives him a right hook." Charlotte deadpans. "Cooper's tired of Sheldon's unsolicited advice when it comes to Drew."

Amelia chuckles. "I'll talk to Sheldon about it."

"How would Sheldon like it if we told him to teach Sara how to blow her nose."

"What do you mean?" Amelia asks.

"Sara's always walkin' around with a snot nose." Charlotte shoots. "Someone needs to show that girl how to blow her nose."

Amelia looks straight at Charlotte. "You do realize you're talking to Sara's mother."

"How do you like it?" Charlotte asks. "How do you like someone picking on your child and implying your not doing right by them?"

Amelia asks. "So, were you just trying to make a point by calling Sara a snot nosed kid or do you really think she is one?" Charlotte's about to answer Amelia but Amelia's phone rings. Amelia looks at it. "It's Cole." Amelia picks up the phone and walks away a few minutes.

"What did Cole want?" Charlotte asks after Amelia sits back down.

"He wanted to know if I could come over tonight? He wants to celebrate Dylan's last round of chemo after he gets off of work. He wants the three of us to have dinner as a family."

"What did you say?"

"I said yes. Dylan is our son and we should celebrate him receiving his last dose of chemotherapy. Sheldon will have to understand that. I mean Dylan has Hodgkins. This is a big milestone."

Charlotte nods. "I think Sheldon would be okay with you going out to dinner as long as Dylan's with you."

"Yep, " Amelia nods. "He'd agree to that but not to the part when Cole asked me to come back and celebrate alone as Dylan's parents after Dylan falls asleep."

"What did you tell Cole about that part?"

"I said I needed to think about it." Amelia shoots.

"Are you going to go?" Charlotte asks.

Amelia answers. "I'm tempted."

* * *

><p>Tyler drops the younger group of teens off at Charlotte and Cooper's house to play the new Mario game. Noah and Dylan set up the game and start playing. Lila and Marley sit on the couch watching and waiting for their turn. "Who has the bag of weed?" Lila asks. "We might as well smoke while we wait."<p>

"I thought you had it." Marley tells her. "You always have it."

Lila checks her pockets. "I don't have it."

Noah tells them. "The last time I saw it, it was on the kitchen table at your house, Marley."

"Everyone check their pockets." Marley orders them, they all do. Nobody has it. "We need to go back to my house and get it before my mother gets home from lunch and finds it."

"I'll call Tyler again." Dylan offers. A few minutes later he tells them Tyler said no. He's already at Allison's house.

"Shit, we have to get back to my house. My mother's not cool like Pete. If she finds out we were smoking weed, she'll kill me and I guarantee she will call all of your parents and tell them." Marley panics.

Lila panics now too. "My dad is going to be so mad if your mother tells him." Lila worries. "We promised him we wouldn't smoke it again after he caught us the last time."

"Can you get Andie or Chase to drive us?" Dylan asks Noah.

"They went to watch Nicky's band play in Monterrey, and my parents are at that birthday party with Drew." Noah explains.

"Did they drive to the party together?" Dylan asks.

"Of course they did. Why wouldn't they?" Noah screws up his face.

"That means they left a car here." Dylan suggests.

"My mom's car is in the garage but don't get any ideas. I'm fourteen. I don't drive yet."

"I can drive." Dylan says.

Marley critcizes."No, you can't. You're not even fourteen yet."

Dylan tells her."Dad and Tyler let me drive their car every weekend in the parking lot of that abandoned warehouse."

"That's not fair." Marley protests. "How come they never let me or Cole Jr. do that?"

"Because my mom is Amelia and you and Cole Jr. have Jolie for a mom." Dylan tells her.

Marley answers. "Which reminds me of why we need to get to my house before my mother comes home and finds the weed."

"Do you have the keys to your momma's car?" Lila asks Noah.

"The spare pair is on the hook but I don't think this is a good idea." Noah worries.

"Can you think of a better one?" Dylan asks Noah. "Your momma is gonna be pissed if Jolie calls her and tells her you smoke weed."

"I'll get the keys." Noah takes the keys off the hook and tosses them to Dylan. They all climb into Charlotte's new Forerunner.

Dylan starts the car, they're all quiet. Lila starts to say something but Noah hushes her. "No talking. Let Dylan concentrate and keep his eyes on the road." Dylan starts out driving real slow and under the speed limit.

They pass the newest model of a yellow Volkswagen Beetle on the road. Lila punches Dylan on the shoulder. "Punch buggy yellow, can't punch back."

Dylan grabs his shoulder. "What's wrong with you? I'm trying to drive!"

"I thought you said you knew how to do this?" Lila complains. "I play punch buggy in the car with my parents and Lucas all the time when they're driving."

"Shhh!" Marley tells Lila. "Dylan's a new driver. Don't distract him."

Dylan jerks the brakes at the traffic stop sign. He hesitates when it's his turn to make the turn. "Go now!" Marley shouts. "It's your turn. You're on the right, it means you have the right of way." Another driver waves for Dylan to go. He makes a wide right turn crossing into the wrong lane. He quickly corrects the car and gets back in the proper lane.

"We're lucky there was nobody coming the other way." Noah complains at him.

"Good grief. I hope we make to my house alive." Marley complains. "I thought you said you knew what you were doing behind the wheel?"

"I'd like to see you guys do any better." He tells them when they complain about his rough starts. He makes a wide left turn now and they all groan that they're lucky there was nobody in the other lane or he would have crashed. Dylan promises to try and make tighter turns. They all breathe a sigh of relief when they make it to Marley's house. Marley gets out of the car and runs in to grab the weed off the table. She runs back into the car with the weed. "We better get out of here fast before my mother gets home and sees us driving Noah's momma's car."

Dylan puts the car in reverse and steps on the gas. They feel a bump and hear a boom. Dylan slams on the brakes.

"Shit!" Noah yells. "You hit something!" They look behind them but see nothing. Marley jumps out of the car to look.

"You backed into my mother's mailbox. It's smashed on the ground. That was a designer mailbox. She had it custom made!" Marley panics.

"Get in the car!" Lila yells at her."We need to get out of here before your mother gets home."

Marley jumps in the car and Dylan drives slowly away. "Why are driving so slow? Step on it before my mother catches us!"

"Do you want me to hit something else?" Dylan yells back. "My hands are shaking!"

"My whole body is shaking." Noah rubs his hands over his head. He asks Marley. "Did he damage my momma's car when he plowed down the mailbox?"

"I didn't look." Marley says, "I was looking at the mailbox, smashed all over the street."

Dylan continues to drive slowly down the street. "Does someone else want to drive? I shouldn't be stressed like this. I just came home from the hospital."

"I've never driven before in my life." Marley says. "I can't do it."

"Me either." Lila says. "You have to finish driving Dylan. You're the only one who knows how."

"He doesn't know how." Noah comments. "He mowed down the mailbox."

Dylan defends. "I never had to back up before. I didn't have to go in reverse when I was practicing in the parking lot."

"Why did you step on the gas so hard?" Lila asks.

"I didn't mean to." Dylan says. "You have to put just the right amount of pressure on the gas pedal or else that's what happens. I'm new at this." Dylan needs to make a right turn off of Marley's street. He makes the turn slow but wide.

"You're lucky nobody was coming in the other direction again or you would have killed us all." Marley complains.

Lila defends. "No, he wouldn't because he's driving like a snail. They would have saw him first and had time to stop before crashing into us."

"I need to relax. Give me the bag of weed." Marley tells Lila.

"Me too," Lila takes out a joint and passes it to Marley.

Noah turns around. "Put that out. You're going to stink up my momma's new car."

The girls listen. Marley puts the joint out but drops it on the floor of the back seat unknowingly after she spots her mother and Scott pass by them going the opposite direction. "Oh my God, we just passed my mom. I hope she didn't see us."

"How could she not see us? We standout. We're going way too slow." Lila comments.

"I don't think she was paying attention or they would have turned around and came after us by now." Noah says.

Dylan drives the rest of the way back to Charlotte and Cooper's house. He's careful to drive the exact speed limit so as not to attract anyone's attention. He pulls in the garage slowly and breaks smooth this time. They all clap that they made it home safe. Noah gets out to look at the damage with Dylan.

"It's not that bad." Dylan says. "There's just a scratch on the back bumper."

"Look there's another scratch over here by the back window and a spot of green paint on the bumper from the mailbox post." Marley points out.

"It's not that noticeable." Lila says. "You can't notice it unless you're looking for it. Does your momma inspect her car every day?"

"I don't think so." Noah says.

"Then we're fine." Lila says. "She probably won't notice for weeks and she won't know we did it."

"If she notices it just say someone must have hit her car in the parking lot at work." Dylan says. "Come on, let's go inside. All that driving made me hungry."

After they get inside, Dylan turns the Mario Bros game back on while Marley searches through the kitchen cabinets for a snack. Marley brings out a box of peanut butter cookies. They all grab a handful. Lila licks hers.

A few minutes later Charlotte and Cooper walk in with Drew. "Hey, that's my game!" Drew runs over and grabs the game controllers away from them with his good hand.

"Share," Cooper instructs Drew. "Let your brother and his friends play for a little while. You had a fun filled day at the party. They were probably bored sitting home all day."

"What did you guys do all afternoon?" Charlotte asks the group of young teens. "Nothing." They answer in unison.


	66. Chapter 66

_**CHAPTER 66**_

* * *

><p>Cooper stops into Jolie's office at work to see how she's doing. "Knock, knock," he smiles.<p>

"Come in." Jolie looks up from a chart. "I have a question for you."

"Ask away." Cooper sits on the couch in her office.

"Was Charlotte driving her Forerunner in my neighborhood yesterday around two pm?"

"No, we took Drew to a birthday party yesterday afternoon. Why?" Cooper asks.

"Someone knocked down my mailbox and ran." Jolie rants. "It was custom made. It took three months for them to deliver it to me. Someone left it smashed all over the street. They didn't even have the courtesy to leave a note."

Cooper chuckles. "And you think Charlotte did it? What?" Cooper finds it amusing. " Do you think she has this deep seeded hate for you that makes her want to smash your designer mailbox and run?"

"No, I saw a new Forerunner like hers in the neighborhood when I was coming home from my lunch date. I thought maybe she went by my house to pick up Noah and she might have saw something."

"Sorry." Cooper shrugs. "I can't help you with the mystery of the mailbox smasher." He chuckles.

"You wouldn't be laughing if it was your mailbox." Her wheels start spinning. "Maybe it was Cole."

"Why would Cole want to smash your mailbox?" Cooper makes a silly clown face at her.

"Because I'm dating Scott Stephens and Cole didn't seem pleased about it."

"Ah, Scott Stephens the oncologist. Good for you." Cooper gets up and pats Jolie on the back. "I don't think Cole's the mailbox smashing type." Cooper snickers. Before he leaves Jolie's office he tells her. "It was probably some punk kids."

* * *

><p>Noah carries his tray through the cafeteria and finds a seat next to Marley. Lila follows with her tray. Dylan sits down across from them. "So, Noah did your parents notice the car was scratched?"<p>

"Not at all." Dylan high fives Noah.

"Don't celebrate yet. It hasn't even been twenty four hours." Marley advices.

"They'll never know." Dylan tells them. "Those scratches could have happened anywhere. As long as we all agree to keep our mouths shut; we're home free."

Lila asks Marley. "Was your mom upset about the mailbox?"

"Are you kidding me?" Marley answers. "That's all I heard about last night. All she was saying is she didn't understand how someone could drive into your mailbox and just leave it lying smashed in the middle of the road. She went on and on about it all night."

"At least she doesn't suspect us." Lila peels a banana and licks it before she puts it down.

"Aren't you going to eat the banana?" Marley asks.

"No." Lila explains. "I'd rather lick it."

"Do you guys want to hang out after school?" Dylan's ask.

"Can't." Noah eats his hamburger. "I have basketball practice."

"I can't either." Lila licks her pickle. "I have dance class."

"What about you?" Dylan asks Marley.

"Dad's supposed to take me and Cole Jr. fishing after school today since it's our week with him." Marley explains.

"Who's Cole Jr. been hanging out with this year?" Lila asks. "I hardly see him."

Marley tells her. "Cole Jr. has officially joined the nerd squad. He signed up for the math club and the chess club."

The rest of them laugh. "Bet he's making your mom proud." Dylan cackles.

Marley sighs, "At least _he_ is."

Lila licks the salt off some crackers. "Cole Jr. is a momma's boy."

* * *

><p>Charlotte calls the kids down for dinner. "Wash up." She tells them. "Your dad just texted me he's almost home."<p>

"What's for dinner?" Noah asks.

"Grilled chicken shish-kabobs."

"I can't eat it with my cast on momma." Drew complains.

"You can use your other hand. It'll make that arm all the more stronger."

"Daddy fed me dinner last night." Drew tells her with big puppy dog eyes.

"You're not a baby, Drew. I'm not spoon feeding you," Charlotte instructs. "You can make do using the other hand."

Cooper walks in the kitchen and drops his leather bag on the ground. "What happened to your car, Chief?" Cooper asks. "Did you back into something?"

Charlotte looks at him. "No, I did not, why?"

"You have a small dent and a scratch on your back bumper and some of the paint is scratched below the rear window." Cooper tells her.

"Show me." Charlotte follows Cooper outside to her car. Drew follows his parents to look at the car.

"I noticed it when I pulled up." Cooper parked behind Charlotte in the driveway.

"I don't know when this could have happened." Charlotte looks at the damage. "I just put groceries in the trunk Saturday and it wasn't there. It had to have happened yesterday or today while I was at work."

"Someone probably bumped you in the parking lot." Cooper says.

Drew opens the back door and climbs in the car.

"Get out of the car, Drew." Charlotte tells him." You need to go inside and eat your dinner."

"I don't like chicken kabobs." Drew pouts and hides on the floor of the back seat of the car. He finds a joint on the floor and picks it up.

"You heard your mother." Cooper reinforces. "You need to get out of the car and go inside to eat."

Drew doesn't listen so Cooper pulls him out from the floor of the backseat and holds him." What do you have?" Cooper asks Drew.

"I don't know. I found it in momma's car."

Cooper takes it away from Drew and holds it up to Charlotte. "Something you want to tell me, Char?" He jokes.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"It's a marijuana joint, if that's what you think it is." Cooper raises his eyebrows.

"How did it get in my car?"

"I don't know, but we're about to find out." Cooper carries Drew back in the kitchen, Charlotte follows.

Andie, Chase and Noah are eating their dinner. Cooper holds up the joint. "Who does this belong to?"

"Is that a joint?" Andie asks.

"It is." Charlotte clenches her jaw. "Which one of my children does it belong to?"

"Not me." Andie says.

"It's not mine. I don't smoke grass." Chase says while he continues to eat.

"I don't know." Noah shrugs his shoulders. He feels his face flush. He's careful not to look up. He looks at his plate and tries to eat his dinner.

"Were you and Nicky smoking in my car, Andie?" Charlotte glares at Andie.

"No, momma. Why do you always think it's me?"

Charlotte answers, "Nicky's a musician and it's not like you haven't done anything behind my back before."

"It wasn't me and Nicky. Nicky smokes cigarettes, not joints, and even if we did we wouldn't do it in your car." Andie defends." Nicky has his own place and we have our own cars. Why would we smoke in yours?"

"Because your mother's car is newer and better?" Cooper guesses.

"That's retarded, besides momma would have to be home for me and Nicky to sneak in her car and smoke. Why would we take the risk of being caught if momma was home?"

"She does make a point." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"The boys aren't angels, they're just better at not getting caught." Andie tells her parents.

"Not this time." Charlotte says.

Cooper asks Chase. "Be honest, Chase. Is this yours?" Cooper shows him the joint again.

"No, dad." Chase holds his hands in front of him as if surrendering. "I don't smoke that stuff and even if I did, I have my own car. I wouldn't smoke in momma's car."

Charlotte and Cooper turn their eyes to Noah who's nervously shoving his dinner in his mouth. "Look at me Noah!" Charlotte commands.

Noah looks up at his momma and swallows. His heart's racing.

"Is this yours?" She holds up the joint.

"No," he answers. 'It's not mine." He hesitates while she stares at him, then he tells her, "... I wasn't smoking in your car but Lila and Marley were."

"Why were Lila and Marley smoking in _my_ car?"

"I told them to put it out because it would stink up your new car but I guess one of them dropped it." Noah looks down at his plate.

"Who else was in my car?" Charlotte asks.

"Dylan." Noah tells. "But it isn't his joint, he was driving."

Charlotte and Cooper's eyes grow big. Charlotte's mouth drops open. "You let Dylan drive my car?"

Noah nods. "He's the only one who knows how to drive. His dad's's been teaching him in some parking lot."

"Why didn't he take Cole's car out for a joy ride? Why my car?" Charlotte asks.

"It wasn't a joy ride." Noah explains. "We needed to get back to Marley's house fast and we didn't have any other way. Andie and Chase were in Monterrey and you were at that birthday party."

Cooper asks. "What was the big hurry to get back to Marley's house?"

"Lila left the joint on Marley's kitchen table. Marley wanted to get back before her mom came home and found it because you know how ugly Jolie can get when she's mad."

"Oh, you're going to see me get real ugly soon." Charlotte tells Noah. "You're lucky Dylan didn't get in an accident and kill you all."

Cooper asks. "You didn't happen to knock over Jolie's mailbox and leave it lying smashed in the road?"

"Me? No...I didn't... but Dylan did."

Charlotte throws her hands in the air. "That explains the scratches." Charlotte walks out of the kitchen and into the living room. Cooper follows her. "What are you doing, Char?"

"I need to count to twenty before I lose it in there and say something I'm going to regret." Charlotte paces back and forth through the living room. "We raised him better than this. He knows better."

"He's fourteen, Char. He got caught up in peer pressure." Cooper pats Charlotte's shoulder. "Noah's a good kid."

"We're going to have to call Violet and Pete and let them know Lila was involved."

"I'll call Violet and tell her." Cooper volunteers.

"I'll call Amelia and let her know about Dylan driving my car." Charlotte sighs.

"I'll call Jolie and talk to her about Marley." Cooper suggests.

"Good luck with that." Charlotte paces the living room.

Cooper hugs Charlotte. "It's okay, Chief. Stay calm."

"He could have been killed, Cooper. They all could have been killed driving _my_ car."

Cooper cups her chin in his hand. "They're fine. Now, we need to go in there and talk to him so it doesn't happen again."

"What's his punishment?" Charlotte asks. "How do we punish him for this?"

"We don't have to decide that right now. For tonight he stays in his room." Cooper escorts Charlotte back into the kitchen.

"What are you going to do to Noah?" Andie asks.

"Is Noah in big trouble?" Drew asks.

"That isn't any of your business." Charlotte tells them. "The rest of you may be excused while your father and I talk with Noah."

Chase wipes his mouth and pats Noah on the back "Good luck," he tells his younger brother before he leaves the kitchen.

"Lay down the law." Andie says to them. "Smoking weed and stealing your car are serious offenses."

Noah shoots Andie a dirty look.

"Your mother and I have not decided on your punishment yet." Cooper tells Noah. "We want to make sure the punishment does justice to the crime. We're going to call your friends' parents, then, your mother and I are going to eat our dinner in peace. You may wait for us in your room until we're done."

Noah nods and goes up to his room.

Charlotte and Cooper pull out their phones and the phone calls begin. Noah feels a huge knot forming in his stomach.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review!<strong>_


	67. Chapter 67

_**CHAPTER 67**_

* * *

><p>Noah walks with his tray to the lunch table at school. Before he sits down with his friends, he tells them, "I didn't rat you out. Someone dropped a joint in the back of my momma's car. She found it."<p>

"You could have played dumb or blamed it on your sister." Dylan suggests.

"I tried that. It was like the grand inquisition as my house last night." Noah sits down and opens his milk. "My parents weren't going to stop unitl they found out who the joint belonged to."

"My mother is never going to get over it." Marely tells them. "I'm not supposed to hang out with you guys anymore. My mother says you're all a bad influence."

Dylan responds. "At least you can hang out with us when you're staying with dad. He's more reasonable about stuff."

"I know." Marely nods. "That's why I'm not freakin' out so much."

Marley continues. "My mother's making me pay for a new mailbox, she's witholding my allowance until it's paid off and she took away my phone." Marley sighs. "She hates me now."

"She can't hate you." Lila scoffs. "She's your mother."

"Well, let's just say, I'm her devil child now." Marley eats her fries. "Tyler and Cole Jr are her angels."

"You could always move in with dad." Dylan suggests.

"I might have to." Marley eats another fry. "And, I denfinitely can't smoke weed again."

Lila licks her French fries. "My parents took my iPhone away for one month. I feel so naked without it." Lila takes another lick of her fry. "What's your punishment Noah?"

"I got lectured for an hour straight about the dangers of drug addiction and how it will ruin my life."

"That doesn't surprise me. Your dad likes to talk." Lila takes a sip of water.

"It wasn't my dad. This time it was my momma who was lecturing me for an hour." Noah tells them. "My dad just sat there and agreed with everything she said."

"My mom did the same thing." Dylan tells him, "but you're lucky if getting lectured for an hour was your only punishment."

"It's not." Noah bites into his hamburger." My parents took my phone away too and I'm not allowed out of the house besides school and basketball practice for one month."

"Ditto." Dylan nods. "No phone and I'm not supposed to talk to you guys until my birthday party in January."

"It's my birthday party too." Marley reminds. "Dad's throwing a big one for all of us."

"I'm surprised your dad's still letting you have a party." Noah eats his soup.

"It's not for another month." Dylan answers. "They can't punish us forever."

Lila licks another fry. "And they can't stop us from eating lunch together and talking at school but I really miss my iPhone."

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess eat lunch together in the cafeteria. A pretty blonde sits down on the other side of Chase. "Do you mind if I sit with you guys?"<p>

"No problem." Chase smiles at the blonde. Tess studies her.

The blonde talks to Chase. "Miss Walters told me I should ask you if you could tutor me in math?"

"Really?" Chase asks. "I've never tutored anyone before."

"You get extra credit for it, if you're a student." The blonde informs him.

"Your name is Haili? Right?"

"Yes. I'm having a little trouble with geometry, if I don't bring up my scores, they're going to kick me off of the cheerleading squad."

"I'll tutor you." Chase agrees. "Math is my specialty, especially geometry."

"Great. We're a perfect match then." The blonde flips her hair, sounding a little flirty. Tess looks on annoyed.

* * *

><p>Charlotte bumps into Amelia in the hall at work. "So, how hard did you come down on Dylan?"<p>

"Pretty hard. Cole and I discussed it and we agreed to take his phone away and no friends for one month." Amelia answers. "How about you? Did you go easy on Noah?"

"No. I lectured him for over an hour and I told him he has to pay back for the damage to my car and Jolie's mailbox."

Amelia takes out her wallet. "How much do I owe you for Dylan's part of the damage?"

"You just take care of Jolie's mailbox. Cooper said Jolie came down really hard on Marley and wants her to pay for it. It's better if you help the kid out and pay for some of it."

"How much was it?" Amelia asks.

"Jolie told Cooper she paid two thousand to have it custom made."

"Wow? Marely will be paying that back forever. I'll give Jolie half the money."

"That's generous of you."

Amelia shrugs. "I'm going to tell Cole to pay it since he had two kids involved; Dylan and Marley. Cole shouldn't get off free." Amelia insists.

"Good plan." Charlotte smirks.

"How bad is the damage to your car?" Amelia scrunches her nose.

"Not that bad. There's a small dent and a couple of scratches. They would have got away with it if we didn't find the joint in the backseat."

Amelia rubs her head. "It's scary, ya know? I started using drugs when I was a teenager. Dylan's a lot like me."

"It's different with our kids, Amelia."

"How?"

"Because now we know. We know what to look for and believe me I'm going to be on Noah like a flea on a dog."

"Same here." Amelia nods. "Are you going to allow Noah to go to Pete and Violet's holiday get together?"

Charlotte nods. "It's the holidays. Cooper and I will be there. He wouldn't dare get into any trouble."

"Okay." Amelia agrees. "I'll allow Dylan to come along with us then too."

* * *

><p>Andie knocks on the door of Nicky's cottage. "Come in, gorgeous." Andie walks in. "I'm starving. What do you have to eat in here?"<p>

"You can make some Ramen Noodles while I tune up my guitar."

Andie opens the cabinets. "That's it? Ramen Noodles?"

Nicky laughs. "I'm not much of a shopper."

"Remind me to bring some food the next time I come. All you have is Ramen Noodles, a couple cans of spaghettio's, chips and beer."

"There's a frozen pizza in the freezer if you want." Nicky tunes his guitar.

Andie looks through the empty cabinets. "You need fruit and juice and popcorn and everything else."

"You can be my personal shopper. I'll pay you."

Andie pounces on Nicky. "You can pay me with a song. Write me a song."

"Hey, watch it!" Nicky pulls up his guitar.

"What?" Andie screws up her face. "I can't touch your guitar?"

"This isn't any guitar, Belle. This is MY guitar."

"Ohhh, excuuuuse me." Andie teases and touches his guitar. "Touched it! There!" She laughs.

"You're a bad girl." He teases.

"I am." Andie grabs the guitar. "Teach me to play."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. It shouldn't be too hard. I took piano lessons when I was little."

"Guitar is different than piano. You have to learn the chords on the guitar, first."

"If I can do piano, I can do guitar."

"Why'd you quit piano?"

Andie rests her head on Nicky's shoulders and explains. "My dad would see all these kids come into his office over stressed with stomach problems because their parents pushed them to do too many things. Some kids did piano, soccer, karate, baseball all at the same time. My dad says it's unhealthy. He would never do that to us. He said we should pick one activity at at time and do it well, instead of doing five things at a time and doing half as well at all of them."

Nicky nods. "Sounds like good advice."

"My dad's a pediatrician so I guess it was."

"You picked horseback riding. I remember that."

"Right." Andie tweeks Nicky's nose. "I did piano until I was six and then I switched to horseback riding. I did that until middle school when I joined Lacrosse...-"

Nicky interrupts. "And you just quit Lacrosse when you met me."

"Aha."

"So, does that mean that I'm your new hobbie now?"

Andie laughs. "You're the best hobbie so far."

"Will your dad be happy if I teach you guitar? That way you're getting me and an activity at the same time."

Andie laughs. "I'll give you one guess which activity I love to do best with you." Andie presses Nicky into the couch cushions with a kiss.

Nicky laughs before kissing her back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW =)<strong>_


	68. Chapter 68

_**CHAPTER 68**_

* * *

><p>It's two weeks before Christmas. Red and white poinsettia's adorn both sides of Violet and Pete's front porch. There's a holly wreath on each window and a larger one on the front door. Cooper rings the doorbell. Charlotte stands next to him with a bottle of liquor in a festive gift bag. Noah and Drew look at the Christmas lights while they wait for someone to answer. Pete finally answers. "Sorry it took so long. Come in," he tells them."<p>

"Happy Holidays." Charlotte hands Pete the gift bag.

"Merry Christmas." Pete tells Charlotte. He looks in the bag. "This will come in handy with the eggnog tonight."

Cooper walks in behind Charlotte. "Happy Holiday's to you Wilder's, except where are the rest of the Wilder's?"

Pete takes Cooper and Charlotte's coats. "Vi's in the kitchen helping Lila make peanut brittle."

"Yum." Drew licks his lip.

Pete looks down at Drew. "And Sara's in the kitchen with them, sampling some fudge."

"Yay! I'm going too." Drew runs for the kitchen.

"The cast doesn't seem to be slowing him down." Pete comments.

"No, it doesn't." Cooper agrees.

"Is Lucas home from school yet?" Charlotte asks.

"He came in last night. He's out back catching up with Danielle." Pete looks towards the back door.

"Thanks for doing this." Cooper rubs his hands together "It looks very festive in here." Cooper looks around at the holiday decor. The Christmas tree is lit and four stockings are hung with some holly along the fireplace mantle. There are animated elves and a Santa and Mrs. Claus by the window amongst the other decorations.

"I can't take credit for the decorations. Violet and Lila did it all themselves." Pete hangs up their coats in the closet.

"Is Marley here yet?" Noah asks Pete.

"Not yet but we're expecting that group soon." Pete tells Noah.

Pete looks over at Cooper again and asks. "Where's the rest of your crew. You're missing some."

"Andie's coming with Nicky and Chase is picking up Tess. They'll be here soon." Charlotte answers Pete.

Cooper rolls his eyes. "Oh yay!" His voice is sarcastic. "Do your children listen to you, Pete? Because I swear I told Andie I didn't want her to see Nicky and I distinctly remember telling Chase he spends too much time with Tess."

Charlotte gently jostles Cooper's arm. "Don't be a scrooge, Coop. It's the holidays."

Pete chuckles and hands Cooper a beer "Happy Hanukah." Pete hands Charlotte a martini. "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you." Charlotte sits on the couch with Cooper while Pete answers the door again.

Cole and Jolie walk in with Cole Jr. and Marley.

"What are they doing here together?" Cooper asks Charlotte. "I thought they were in the middle of a divorce?"

"Beats the hell outta me if I know." Charlotte sips her martini.

Amelia walks out of the kitchen with Sheldon. Charlotte stands up, smooths out her dress and walks over to Amelia.

"What's going on?" Charlotte asks her brunette friend.

"It was Jolie's idea." Amelia frowns. "She thinks Marley is acting out because of the divorce so they decided to be a family for the holidays."

* * *

><p>Noah greets Marley at the door. "At least we all get a reprieve from our punishment tonight." They go into the family room to play video games with Dylan.<p>

"Are your parents getting back together?" Noah asks Marley. "I saw you all came together."

"I think they're getting back together because of me. They figure I'm rebelling cuz of the divorce." Marley tells Noah.

"I think they're just doing it for the holidays." Cole Jr tells them. He sits down to play a video game with Dylan.

"And then what?" Noah asks.

"Then it's back to splitsville." Dylan laughs.

"Stop laughing, Dylan. He's your father too." Marley scolds.

"No skin off my back what dad does with his love life." Dylan talks and plays the video game at the same time.

"That's because you want him to be with your mother!" Marley accuses.

"Calm down, Marles. They'll hear you." Noah advices. He asks Dylan, "where's Lila?"

"In the kitchen baking up all kinds of goodies that she'll never eat." Dylan chuckles again.

"Come on." Noah pulls Marley along. "Let's go see Lila."

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky come to the party. Andie's wearing a clingy red dress. Nicky's wearing an emerald green shirt with a grey jacket and jeans. They walk into the living room to greet everyone. Nicky shakes hands with Pete. Cooper keeps his hands in his pockets.<p>

"Nicky looks hot tonight." Marley tells Noah as they pass them on the way to the kitchen.

"You shouldn't be looking at other guys." Noah teases.

Lila's busy baking in the kitchen with Violet. Sara and Drew are helping to decorate cookies. Noah and Marley greet them. "Hey Lila. Hey Dr. Turner."

Violet greets them with a smile. "I bet you two are happy to get out of the house tonight."

"Yes" Marley answers. "Thank you for inviting us. It looks like a lot of work."

Violet smiles. "Are you kidding? I love this."

Lila looks up at them. "What's your poison? Marshmallow fudge or peanut brittle?" She holds out two plates.

"Fudge." Noah and Marley both say in unison. They each grab a piece.

"I'll be right back." Violet tells the kids. "I'm going to pass some of Lila's fudge out in the living room."

After Violet leaves the kitchen, Lila tells her friends. "Eat as much as you can. I don't want my mother on _my_ case to eat it." Lila licks a piece of peanut brittle.

"Are you going to eat that or just lick it?" Six year old Sara asks Lila.

"Both." Lila lies to the little girl. She has no intention of eating it. "Here." Lila hands Drew and Sara each a tin of fudge and peanut brittle. "Bring this outside to Danielle and Lucas. They looked hungry when I saw them earlier."

"Okay." Drew and Sara head outside with the treats.

Danielle and Lucas are in mid kiss when the two kids come up upon them. "Why are you kissing?" Sara asks.

"What are you two doing out here?" Danielle asks them.

"Lila said you looked hungry. She wanted us to bring you this." Drew shows them the peanut brittle and fudge.

"Thanks." Lucas tells them. '"Go tell my sister we said thanks a bunch."

"Okay." Drew and Sara run back into the house.

"Did your sister set that up on purpose for the kids to see us making out?"

Lucas answers. "I don't know what's up with my sister these days."

"She's anorexic." Danielle deadpans.

"My parents have it under control now."

"If you say so." Danielle gets back to kissing Lucas.

Andie and Nicky walk outside. "Here you guys are." Andie says rather loudly. "Spreading holiday cheer."

Danielle and Lucas break their kiss to greet Andie and Nicky.

"You guys look good together." Danielle hugs Andie and smiles at Nicky.

Nicky and Lucas high five each other. "Nicky Poulos, long time no see." Lucas greets.

"Yeah well, I hear you're a Yale boy now." Nicky sits down on the porch swing and lights up a cigarette.

"And I hear your band is amazing."

"You should come down to Giorgio's and hear us play one night while your home." Nicky suggests.

"I just might do that." Lucas sits in a porch chair. Danielle sits on his lap.

"Congratulations, Danielle. Andie told me you're starting at Yale next semester." Nicky greets Danielle.

"Yep. I have enough credits to graduate high school early. I'm going to start a few classes at Yale this winter."

"I can't wait for her to come up to Yale." Lucas squeezes Danielle's knee.

"I'm glad it all worked out for you." Andie tells them.

"I'm glad to get out of high school. This has been a crappy year." Danielle looks at Andie.

"I hear you." Andie answers.

"Are things better for you now Andie that Danielle told everyone Nicky wasn't your cousin?" Lucas asks.

"Better for me but worse for Danielle as I'm sure she told you." Andie answers.

"It's all good." Danielle tells her. "I'm going to Yale. I don't want to think about Amanda and Brittany."

"Won't they be at Yale with you?" Nicky asks.

"Not until the fall. Yale is big. I may never have to see them."

"Danielle will be okay. I'll make sure of it." Lucas tells them.

"How about you guys?" Danielle asks. "Your dad is okay with you guys dating again?"

"He can't say anything." Andie tells them. "I joined the drama club. I'm getting involved with after school activities."

Nicky puffs on his cigarette. "I actually agree with Dr. Freedman about that. Andie should be doing that stuff. I don't want her to miss out on anything because of me."

Tyler walks outside to meet them holding hands with a pretty blonde. Tyler looks at Danielle and Lucas sitting together on the chair. "Lila said you were out here."

Tyler looks at Andie and Nicky sitting on the swing. "I didn't know _you _were going to be out here." It's awkward for everyone except Lucas.

Lucas gets up, slapping hands with Tyler. "How's it going bro?"

"It's going." Tyler slaps hands back with Lucas.

"Hello." Lucas addresses Tyler's date. "I'm Lucas."

"I'm Allison." The blonde shakes hands with Lucas.

"What are you doing with a dude like Tyler?" Lucas teases.

Allison grabs Tyler's arm and locks elbows with him. "Tyler's a great guy. They're hard to come by." Allison looks directly and Nicky.

Lucas chuckles. "I know Tyler's a good man. I was just busting his chops."

Nicky stands up to greet Allison and Tyler. "Hi." Nicky hands Allison a cigarette.

"Hi." Allison takes the cigarette and puts it in her mouth. Nicky lights it for her.

"I didn't know you smoke?" Tyler asks.

"I don't, unless someone offers me one. Then I'll take it." Allison tells Tyler.

Andie stands up and smooths down her her red dress. It's a nervous habit. She hugs Tyler. "Hey Ty, glad you could make it."

"Yeah." Tyler hugs her back before sitting down in a wicker porch chair. Allison puffs on her cigarette before sitting down on Tyler's lap in the chair.

"Hi Allison." Andie tries to be friendly.

Allison doesn't respond. She blows smoke out of her mouth in Andie's direction.

"So, how did you meet?" Lucas asks Tyler and Allison.

"We both go to UCLA." Tyler answers.

"But that's not how we got together." Allison puffs her cigarette. "We got together because of Andie." Allison shoots Andie a look.

"Really?" Lucas replies.

"It's a long story." Andie smooths out her dress again.

"We got all night." Lucas laughs. "Tell us how you intorduced them...-"

"I'll tell it." Allison interrupts. "I used to go watch Nicky play at Giorgio's and ...-"

Drew and Sara run out of the house with a plate of Christmas cookies. "Lila wanted us to bring these to you!" Sara shouts. "She made them herself."

"Oh, thanks a lot." Andie's delighted for the interruption. "Bring em here."

"They look good." Nicky tries to distract everyone so Allison can't tell her story. "We have Christmas tree cookies and what are these?" He asks Drew and Sara.

"Those are snowman's" Sara answers. "And these are Santa faces."

"Don't eat the Santa faces." Drew warns them.

"Why not?" Nicky asks as they each grab a cookie from the plate.

"I saw Lila licking a cookie with a Santa face. I think she put it back on the plate after she licked it."

"Gross." Andie drops her cookie back on the plate followed by Danielle.

Danielle scowls at Lucas. "Are you still going to eat that cookie if Lila was licking them?"

"She didn't lick them all. Just don't eat the Santa face cookies." Lucas takes a bite of his cookie.

Nicky gets up. "I'm gonna hit the road." He looks at Andie. "You comin?"

Andie gets up. "Yeah."

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Danielle asks.

Nicky answers. "I wasn't feeling great when I got here but the cookie licking thing just made me feel ten times worse."

"But the party's just getting started." Danielle gets up.

"I'm really not feeling that good." Nicky tells her. "Sorry, maybe another time."

Tyler gets up to hug Andie. "I'm sorry about Allison." He whispers in her ear.

"It's okay." She whispers back. "I had it coming."

Nicky grabs Andie's hand and they walk out through the house.

"Leaving so soon?" Charlotte asks them.

"Nicky's not feeling well." Andie tells her.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asks Nicky.

"Just a headache." Nicky tells Charlotte. "I'll be fine."

Charlotte hugs them goodbye. "I'll see you at home later, Sweet Pea, you hear me?"

"Yes momma, I'll be home before curfew."

"Good girl." Charlotte nods at her daughter before sitting back down on the couch.

Jolie and Cole grab a drink and sit next to Charlotte and Cooper on the couch. Amelia and Sheldon sit across from them in chairs. Violet comes back in the room with a tray of cookies that Lila made.

"Lila made these." Violet tells them.

"They look good." Cooper grabs a cookie. "Looks like they came from the bakery."

"Yeah." Pete nods. "Lila's become quite the baker lately."

"How's she doing?" Amelia asks. "I mean with the anorexia?"

"She's seeing Alexis Rhodes as her therapist. Alexis says it's going to be a process but she's headed in the right direction."

"Is she eating?" Sheldon grabs a cookie from the tray.

"She's eating." Violet nods.

"Barely." Pete joins in.

"She's eating, Pete." Violet's clearly annoyed.

Pete bites into a cookie. "Let's just say she's eating enough to stay out of the ER. She's obsessed with baking though."

"That's common with anorexics." Sheldon munches his cookie. "They're tend to obsess about making food for others but don't eat it themselves."

"That's what we're dealing with." Pete glares at Violet.

Violet responds. "It's safe to say _everyone_ here is dealing with issues. Noah, Marely and Dylan were all smoking pot with Lila. It's a hard age."

Pete retorts. "We didn't go through any of this when Lucas was her age."

Violet shoots back "And you were worried that Lucas was too good. You complained that he was too perfect. Now, Lila isn't perfect and you're complaining about that."

Pete argues back. "I'm not complaining about Lila. I'm just worried about her. There is a difference, Violet." Pete looks around the room now. His co-workers eyes are all on him. He continues. "You on the other hand choose to live with your head in the clouds, pretending she's fine. She's not fine, Violet."

Violet raises her voice, aware her colleagues are watching. "What do you want me to do, Pete? Shove the food down her throat?" Violet huffs. "I'm taking her to see Alexis Rhodes, What else do you want from me?"

"You're a therapist, Violet, and you're her mother!" Pete shouts. "I want you to do something!"

It's getting loud and now the teens are all listenting. Lila starts to cry. "They're fighting about me." She tells Dylan.

Marley stalks into the living room to tell the adults, "Lila is crying because you're fighting."

"Fine. I'll leave." Pete walks out the door and slams it.

"I think we should go." Amelia tells Sheldon "Get Sara and Dylan."

Jolie looks at Cole. "We should go too. I'll get Marley and Cole Jr."

Cooper gets up to give Violet a hug. "I'm sorry." he tells her. "We'll stay and help you clean up."

"No, that's okay." Violet hugs him back. "You take your family home. I need time alone with Lila anyway. She's upset."

"Okay, but I'm going to call you anyway." Cooper hugs her again.

Charlotte gathers up Noah and Drew to leave. "That was a fun party." Drew says as they walk out the door.

Cooper passes Addison and Sam on his way out. Addison has a bottle of liquor in a holiday gift bag. "Where's everyone going?"

Cooper turns up his lip and quietly tells her. "Violet and Pete had a spat. It got uncomfortable."

"Oh." Addison asks. "Is Danielle still here?"

"She's out back with Lucas and Tyler."

Charlotte walks up to them. "C'mon Coop. The kids are waiting in ther car"

"One minute." Cooper holds his hand up to Charlotte.

"Should Sam and I stay or go?" Addison asks Cooper.

"Violet's going to tell you to go but I'd stay if I was you. She could use the support."

"Then why are you going?"

"We have the kids and it's just not...festive anymore...after the fight." Cooper explains.

"That's too bad. We were looking foward to celebrating with everyone."

Charlotte interrupts. "We still have the St. Ambrose Holiday Party next week. I booked it at Giorgio's on the water. Will I see you two there?"

Sam nods. "Giogio's is a nice place. You'll see us there."

"It's going to be formal attire this year." Charlotte tells them.

"Oh good." Addison smiles. "Now I have somewhere to wear that gown I saw the other day."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Goodnight." He tells Charlotte and Cooper as they walk to their car.

"Take care of Violet." Cooper calls back to them.


	69. Chapter 69

_**CHAPTER 69**_

* * *

><p>Andie comes home from school and heads straight for the kitchen. Noah's sitting at the table doing his homework. "Hey dude. Whatcha doin'?<p>

Noah looks up from his history book. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He watches Andie pulling stuff out of the cabinets. "Hungry much?"

"I'm just bringing a few things to Nicky's place. He has no food." Andie puts some apples and a bag of chips into a bag. She adds in a box of spaghetti and some jarred sauce.

"Tell him to get his own food." Noah watches Andie open the refrigerator and put orange juice, eggs and cheese into another bag. "Hey." Noah complains. "You're taking all our food."

"I'll replace it." Andie packs some strawberries in the bag. "Nicky's not feeling good today. He needs healthy food."

"He's like twenty one years old. Shouldn't he be able to buy his own food?"

"I just told you. He's not feeling good. Have a heart, dude." Andie looks at a tin container on the counter. "What's that?"

"Leftover peanut brittle from the party. Aunt Violet brought it into work for dad to take home." Noah tells.

"Mind if I take it?" Andie asks.

"Go ahead. There's another tin in the freezer."

"Cool." Andie grabs her bags and the peanut brittle. "Hasta la vista, kid." She walks out the door.

Chase and Tess pass Andie as they walk in the door from school. They come into the kitchen for a snack.

"Andie wiped us out of food." Noah jokes. "She went shopping in our cabinets."

"Why?" Chase grabs an orange from the fruit bowl.

"Nicky's sick and she has to feed him."

Tess chuckles. "Nicky looks like he can take care of himself."

There's a knock at the kitchen door. Chase lets Haili in. Haili looks over at Tess. "Did you forget you're supposed to tutor me in geometry today?" She asks Chase.

"No. I didn't forget. Tess is going to study with us."

"Oh." Haili looks at Tess. "As long as she doesn't distract us, it should be okay. I really need to bring my math grade up."

Tess rolls her eyes. "I'll study in the kitchen with Noah."

"Study with us."' Chase tells her.

"No. I'm sure I'm way ahead of what Haili needs to study. You guys study in the family room. I'll stay here with Noah."

After Haili and Chase go into the other room. Noah asks Tess. "What was that all about?"

Tess shrugs. "I can't stand that girl Haili."

"Why?"

Tess asks Noah. "Do you think she's really here for Chase to tutor her or do you think she likes Chase?"

Noah shrugs. " All I know is that her parents are paying Chase to tutor her in geometry."

Cooper walks in the kitchen. He looks around. "Hey, where did the peanut brittle go?"

"Andie took it to Nicky's house along with a bunch of other food." Noah answers. "But there's more peanut brittle in the freezer."

Cooper opens the freezer and pulls a tin out. "Why'd she bring our peanut brittle to Nicky's place?"

"Supposedly, Nicky's sick and has no food at his place." Noah answers.

"Nicky's allergic to peanuts." Cooper tells Noah.

"How do you know that?"

"When he was little, Leslie got mad that your momma gave him some cookies without asking her first. She thought that your momma might have put peanuts in them?"

"That's weird." Noah screws up his nose.

"People with peanut allergies have to be very careful, they can go into anaphylactic shock and even die if they eat peanuts. Leslie was worried your momma fed him something, not knowing he had an allergy."

"Whatever." Noah shrugs.

Cooper eats the peanut brittle and asks Tess. "Why are you studying in here while Chase is in the family room that girl?"

"He's supposed to be tutoring her. Her name is Haili." Tess tells Cooper with a scowl.

"I take it your not crazy about Haili?"

"Not really. I might as well go home and study by myself." Tess picks up her book bag and walks out of the door.

"She's in a bad mood today." Noah tells Cooper.

Cooper explains to Noah. "This is exactly what I was talking about the other day. Tess's jealous that Chase is studying with another girl. They're too young to be in a serious relationship." Cooper goes on telling Noah. "Chase and Tess are sixteen. If Chase wants to study with another girl or even take another girl out he should be able too."

"Then so should Tess." Noah retorts.

"Tess _should_ go out with other boys." Cooper agrees. "They're too young to tie themselves down to one person. Same thing with Andie. She's too young to be with Nicky."

Noah's tired of listening to Cooper. "I'm going outside for some air."

Noah starts to play basketball in his driveway when he hears someone calling out to him. "Mind if I play?" He turns around to see Suzie, Nicky's fourteen year old sister.

"Sure, why not." He passes her the ball.

"I never see you out here playing by yourself." Suzie tells him. "You're usually hanging out with Marley and Dylan."

"Yeah, I'm grounded. We all are. We can't hang out for a month. They took our phones away so we can't even text."

"Bummer." Suzie tells him. "What did you guys do?"

"We got caught smoking weed. And we took my mother's car out for a drive."

"Wow. That's pretty bad."

"What?" Noah asks as he tosses the ball into the basket.

"I can't picture you guys smoking weed."

"Neither could my parents, but hey." Noah shrugs and tosses the ball to Suzie. "So, are you happy that your brother finally got his own place?"

"Not really." Suzie tosses the ball into the basket. "I miss Nicky."

"My sister's over there visiting him now." Noah tells Suzie.

* * *

><p>Andie uses her key to enter Nicky's place. Nicky's asleep on his couch. "Nicky! Wake up! I got food." Andie turns on the light.<p>

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Nicky yells. "The light hurts my eyes!"

Andie turns the light off and walks over to him. "You look like ten miles of bad road."

"What?" Nicky squints his eyes to look at her.

"Just something my momma says. It means you look like crap."

"Yeah well, I feel like crap." Nicky wipes his forehead. "I'm sweating."

Andie feels Nicky's head. "I think you have a fever. Where's the thermometer?"

"I don't own one." Nicky lays his head back down.

"You're burning up. When did you eat last?"

"I don't remember."

"You need to eat. There's a saying, _feed a fever, starve a cold_." Andie thinks about it. "Or is it_ feed a cold , starve a fever?_ Damn I forget. I could call my momma and ask."

"Can you just be quiet?" Nicky asks in an annoyed tone.

"I'm trying to help you." Andie's insulted. "My momma says don't bite the hand that feeds you_."_

"I didn't mean it like that." Nicky apologizes. "I'm happy you're here but my head hurts. I just wanna sleep."

"I'll leave you alone and let you sleep but you have to eat and drink something for me first. I don't want you passing out of low blood sugar like Lila did that time."

"Fine." Nicky concedes. "Bring me something to eat so I can get some sleep."

Andie pours a glass of orange juice and grabs the first thing out of the bag, the tin of peanut brittle.

Andie holds the orange juice to Nicky's mouth so he can sip it. She breaks off a piece of peanut brittle and puts it in his mouth. Nicky chews and swallows it. Andie breaks off another piece and feeds it to him. After a few bites, Nicky asks. "Is that candy?"

"It's peanut brittle." Andie answers. "Lila made it. Do you like it?"

"I'm allergic to peanuts." Nicky suddenly sits up.

"Why did you eat it then?"

"I didn't know what it was? I never had it before." Nicky puts his hands to his throat and looks over his skin, checking for hives.

"But didn't you taste the peanuts?"

"I never tasted a peanut in my life. I had a bad reaction to peanut butter when I was two years old. The doctor told my mother not to ever let me eat anything with peanuts in it again."

"Are you going to be okay?" Andie asks. "I mean you were two, maybe you outgrew the allergy."

"My throat feels itchy and it's starting to feel itchy inside my chest."

"What should I do?" Andie asks.

"Get my epi-pen. It's in the bathroom cabinet."

Andie hurries into the bathroom and pulls the epi-pen out of the box. "What do I do with it?" She asks.

Nicky's starting to wheeze and develop hives. "You have to give it to me. You have to press it into my leg."

"How?" Andie asks.

Nicky wheezes. "There's a diagram on the box. Just put it against my leg and push the button." Nicky holds his hand on his chest. "Hurry. I need it."

Andie presses the epi-pen into Nicky's thigh through his jeans. "There! I did it." She looks at him, but now he's unconscious. "Nicky!" Andie panics. "Wake up!" She shakes him.

"Nicky please. I gave you the shot. Wake up!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	70. Chapter 70

_**CHAPTER 70**_

* * *

><p>Andie runs to the back door of Sheldon and Amelia's house. "I need help!" She bangs on the door, shouting. "Help!"<p>

Amelia rushes to the back door. "What's wrong, Andie?"

"Nicky's unconscious! I gave him peanut brittle and he's allergic to peanut butter."

"Why did you give him peanut brittle?" Amelia asks as they run the short distance. " And why did he eat it?" Amelia asks.

"He's sick, he has a fever. I fed it to him to get some food in him. He asked me what it was. I told him and then he reminded me he was allergic."

"Does he have an epi-pen?"

"I gave it to him already."

Amelia rushes in the door and over to Nicky. "It should be working. Are you sure you gave it to him right?" Amelia checks his breathing and pulse. "Call an ambulance! Tell them he's not breathing but he has a heart rate." Amelia breathes some air into Nicky's lungs and watches his chest rise.

"Oh my God!" Andie panics.

"Just do it, Andie. Get it together and call an ambulance." Amelia gives Nicky another breath.

Andie picks up the phone, her hands are shaking. She manages to make the call and runs back over to Amelia. "What can I do?"

"Count his pulse and tell me what it is, while I give him breaths."

"Is he going to be okay?" Andie asks.

"Just check his pulse for me."

Andie starts. "What is it?" Amelia asks.

"I don't know. I have to start again. I lost count when you talked to me."

"At least we know he has a pulse." Amelia gives Nicky another breath. They hear the sirens approaching. It's a welcoming sound. Andie meets the medics outside and fills them in. They hook Nicky up to a heart monitor and squeeze breaths into him with an amboo bag.

"Does he have an epi- pen?" The medic asks.

"I gave it to him already." Andie hands the medic the used pen. The medic looks at it. "This pen expired three years ago."

"Oh." Andie watches the medics lift an unconscious Nicky onto the stretcher. "No wonder it didn't work."

"It may have helped a little" Amelia tells her. Amelia's out of breath and sweating.

The medics put Nicky in the ambulance. "Can I come?" Andie asks.

"Sorry, no." The medics tell her.

"I'll drive you." Amelia and Andie hop in Amelia's car and follow the ambulance.

* * *

><p>It's a slow day in the ER. Charlotte's handing out flyers for the hospital's holiday party. Cole comes in with Cole Jr.<p>

"What happened?" Charlotte asks.

"Cole Jr. cut himself practicing shaving. I think he may need stitches."

Charlotte looks at his chin. "What kind of razor did you use?"

"I used a razor blade. It slipped when I was trying to shave." Cole Jr. explains.

"You need to teach the boy the proper way to shave." Charlotte takes Cole Jr. into a room to have him looked at.

"The boy doesn't have anything to shave." Cole shrugs. "He's not even fourteen yet."

"He's almost fourteen. He wants to be ready." Charlotte gives Cole a flyer for the Holiday party. Cole looks at it.

"Ah, I bet Jolie's going to bring Scott Stepehens." Cole scowls.

"Who are you bringing?" Charlotte asks.

Cole flirts. "How about you, gorgeous?"

Charlotte laughs and flashes her ring. "Love to, but I'm spoken for."

* * *

><p>The medics rush in with Nicky's stretcher. "We have a twenty one year old male in anaphylactic shock. He needs to be intubated."<p>

Charlotte runs over. "Nicky?" She looks at him on the stretcher. She goes with the medics to bring him in the shock trauma room. "I'll intubate." She tells her staff. The nurse hands her the intubation equipment. "Did anyone give him epi, yet?"

"He had an epi-pen. His girlfriend gave it to him but it expired three years ago."

"Where is his girlfriend now?" Charlotte asks as she passes the tube down Nicky's throat.

"With Dr. Sheppard. Dr Sheppard was at the scene giving him CPR."

Charlotte calls out. "Start another IV. Give him epi and lets get him switched over to our monitors."

"He has a fever, Dr. King." One of the nurses checks Nicky's vitals.

"What is it?"

"104.8"

"That's not from the anaphylactic shock."

The nurse tells Charlotte. "Besides the hives from the allergic reaction, he has a petichiae rash forming."

After Nicky's hooked up to the respirator Charlotte checks out Nicky's rash. "Someone go see if his girlfriend is here yet and find out if he was sick before he went into anaphylactic shock. Pete comes in the room and looks at Nicky. "Are you thinking? What I'm thinking?"

Charlotte nods. "He has a high fever with a petichiae rash."

The nurse comes back in the room. "His girlfriend is waiting outside with Dr. Sheppard. She says he had a fever and headache before he ate the peanuts."

"Let's draw a CBC and blood cultures. We need to do a spinal tap and check for meningitis." Charlotte tells Pete and the nurses.

Charlotte walks out to see Andie and Amelia in the waiting area. Andie jumps up. "How's Nicky, momma?"

"Nicky's a very sick young man, right now."

"What happened?" Amelia asks. "He had a heart rate. I kept him breathing until the ambulance showed up."

"I intubated him. He's on a respirator now." Charlotte tells them. "We gave him epi and Benadryl to reduce the anaphylactic shock."

"So, he should be okay, then." Amelia says.

"Except we're ninety-nine percent sure he has meningitis. Pete's preparing to do an LP on him now." Charlotte tells them. "You're both going to have to take Rifampin, so you don't come down with it next. I don't want an outbreak in my hospital."

"Is he going to be okay, momma?" Andie asks.

"I hope so. It depends on how soon we caught it. We're starting him on IV antibiotics now."

Andie starts to cry. Charlotte hugs her.

"I'll go to the pharmacy to pick up some Rifampin for me, you, Andie and the rest of the ER staff who've been near Nicky." Amelia heads down the corridor.

The nurse puts an isolation sign on the door to Nicky's room.

"I need to call his mother." Andie tells Charlotte through tears.

"Go ahead." Charlotte walks her to the nurses station while she calls Cole to approve giving Amelia the Rifampin.

* * *

><p>Amelia approaches the pharmacy. Cole's waiting for her. "Hello, Pretty Woman." Cole greets her. "I heard you were coming." He winks.<p>

"I'd come anytime for you." She flirts playfully.

"I might wanna take you up on that later." Cole flirts back .

"You got yourself a date."

"I heard you went and got yourself exposed to meningitis." He hands her the bottles of the medicine.

"What are you doing here so late? Don't you leave at five?" Amelia asks.

"It must be your lucky day." He tells her.

"It is, but really why are you here?"

"Cole Jr. tried to shave and ended up cutting his chin with a razor."

"Ouch!" Amelia makes a face. "Does he need stitches?"

"They're suturing him up now."

"Poor kid, but lucky us, because we need your approval to dispense the the rifampin, since your the boss."

"I like being the boss." Cole flirts again while looking at the pharmacy computer.

Amelia closes the door to the pharmacy and locks it. Cole looks at her. "What are you doing?"

She unbuttons her blouse. "I shouldn't be here tonight either. An emergency brought me in." She pulls her blouse off her shoulders and lets it drop to the floor. She continues. "An emergency brought you to the ER tonight too." She slips out of her bra. She pulls Coles' shirt off. "That's no coincidence, that's fate." She presses her body against his, stretching her neck up to kiss him.

"I love fate." Cole scoops Amelia up into his arms, kissing her.

* * *

><p>Andie watches them wheel Nicky through the hospital corridor. They have a surgical mask covering his face to prevent spreading the meningitis. He's hooked up to a ventilator and monitors. "Where are they taking him, momma?"<p>

"He's very sick, Sweet Pea. They're taking him to the intensive care unit."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I told you he's very sick. It depends on how early we caught it." Charlotte wraps her arm around Andie. "You're going to need to take Rifampin so you don't get sick too."

Andie looks at Charlotte. "You run this hospital. Make him okay."

"I'll do my best, Sweet Pea.

"You better, momma, because I can't live without him. If anything happens to Nicky, I won't take the Rifampin." Andie crosses her arms against her chest.

"You have to take the Rifampin or you'll end up just like he is now." Charlotte warns.

"I'm not taking it until you promise me, he'll live through this.

Charlotte takes a deep breath and swallows. "Okay, I promise."

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_

_In response to reviews: Yes, there will be more Charlotte/Drew coming up with the holidays chapters and even more so after the holidays. Andie's a teenager and sometimes teenagers can be annoying. She'll mature as she gets older. __Andie and Chase are growing up faster than Cooper would like. He's trying his best to parent them while he still can. Parenting older teens is new for Cooper. Thanks for reading/reviewing. =)_


	71. Chapter 71

**_CHAPTER 71_**

* * *

><p>Andie's sitting in the intensive care waiting room while Leslie and Suzie visit with Nicky. A tall man about fifty years old, with dark hair, strolls into the waiting room. She looks up at him. He looks familiar but she can't place him. She notes that he's attractive for a man his age. She can't help but stare at the man for some reason. The gentleman checks out the vending machine. He pulls out a twenty dollar bill. He turns to Andie. "Excuse me, Miss, but do you happen to have change of a twenty? This machine only takes singles."<p>

"Let me check." Andie pulls her wallet out. She counts her money. "I have nine singles."

"Here." The man hands her the twenty. "I'll trade you a twenty for your nine singles. Keep the change."

Andie takes the twenty and hands the man her singles. "I'll pay you back when I get the rest, if you give me your name."

"No need." The man puts the money in the vending machine. He pushes a button. A container of beef stew with some crackers falls out. "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since this morning." He sits down and opens the container.

"Are you visiting someone in the ICU?" Andie asks.

The man nods. "My son. He's sick."

"I'm sorry." Andie watches him eat his stew.

"I haven't seen him since he was a kid. He's a young man now." The man sips out of a water bottle. "My ex wife called to tell me he was very sick. He may not make it, so I came."

"Oh?" Andie wonders if this is Nicky's dad. That's it! She figures out why this man looks familiar. It could be Nicky in thirty years, same coloring, same features.

"I don't even know if my boy would want me here, but I came anyway. I drove four hours straight to get here."

"I'm sure he would want to see you." Andie studies every one of the man's movements.

"You don't know my son." The man sighs.

"I think I do. I'm Nicky Poulos's girlfriend."

"Oh then?" The man shakes Andie's hand. "I'm Bruce Poulos. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Andie sighs, knowing he'll recognize her name. She holds her chin high. "I'm Alexandria Freedman. Everybody calls me Andie."

The man looks up. "Wait a minute. I know that name. You're the little red-headed girl from next door that Nicky used to play with."

Andie nods. "That's me."

Bruce screws up his face in deep thought. "Isn't your father my ex-wife's twin brother?"

"Affirmative." Andie answers. She's not really sure why she answered like that instead of saying yes. Her hands are starting to sweat. She wipes them on her jeans while she waits for his reaction.

"That would make you and Nicky first cousins, wouldn't it?"

"It would." Andie keeps rubbing her hands along her thighs wiping her sweaty palms. "We didn't find that out until recently. We've been together since before we knew about the cousin thing and decided that we would stay together, regardless."

Bruce nods. "You must be close then?"

"Very close." Andie smiles.

"What I don't understand is why my ex-wife waited so long to tell you."

"Leslie hated my father for calling social service's on your family. She didn't want anything to do with my family after you left her. Nicky and I would have to sneak to play together when we were kids."

Bruce goes back to eating his soup. "What made her finally spill the beans?"

Andie's feeling a little more comfortable and folds her hands on her lap now. "She found out Nicky and I were seeing each other. She freaked and told my momma."

"I see." Bruce continues to eat his soup.

Andie watches him. "So, are you okay with it?" Andie holds her breath waiting for an answer.

Bruce looks at Andie. "It doesn't matter what I think. I haven't been in Nicky's life for ten years. I have no right to judge, young lady. That's between you and my son."

"Thank you." Andies smiles softly. "For not judging."

"I'm going to guess my ex-wife doesn't approve?"

"She's not thrilled about it but like you said it's between me and Nicky. She can't do anything about it."

"Aha." Bruce nods. "And how do _your_ parents feel?"

"They say they want us to be happy but my dad is always finding reasons for us to break up."

"Like what?" Bruce asks.

"My dad says Nicky is too old for me. Then he says I'm missing out of high school activities because I'm always with Nicky."

"Is that true?" Bruce wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Because you don't want to regret anything later."

"I know. Nicky is only three years older than me. I don't consider that a lot. I joined drama club and am going to all the school socials to please my dad."

Leslie and Suzie walk into the waiting area. "Bruce?" Leslie asks.

Bruce turns around. "How's my boy?"

"The antibiotics seem to be doing their job. They're taking the breathing tube out now to see if he can breathe on his own."

"I want to see him." Bruce tells her.

"You can go in as soon as the doctors say so."

"Papa? Is that you?" Fourteen year old Suzie asks.

"Come here, Suzanna. Give papa a hug." Suzie hugs her dad. She hasn't seen him since she was four years old. "I've missed you, baby." He tells Suzie.

Leslie shakes her head annoyed.

"Let me look at you, Suzie." Bruce breaks the hug and studies his daughter with the long dark hair. "You've grown into a beautiful young lady. You look just like my mother, Ava."

"I do?"

"Yes." Bruce kisses his daughter on the top of her head.

Charlotte walks into the waiting area. "We were able to remove the ventilator. Nicky is breathing on his own."

"Thank God." Bruce says. Charlotte looks at him with surprise. She recognizes her old neighbor.

"Is he awake?" Andie asks.

"No. We had to sedate him while he was on the vent. It's just a matter of time before the sedation wears off and he wakes up."

"When can I see him?" Andie asks.

"You could go in now but only two at a time in the intensive care unit." Charlotte tells the small group.

"Yes, momma." Andie nods.

"You two go in." Leslie tells Bruce and Andie. "I'll take Suzanna to get some dinner."

Andie and Bruce stand at Nicky's bedside. "He's grown into a handsome young man." Bruce comments.

"He doesn't normally look like this." Andie tells Bruce. "Nicky's like the cutest guy I know. He's at his worst right now. Wait 'til you see him when he's healthy."

Bruce nods. "He looks good to me."

Nicky opens his eyes. "Hey Nicky!" Andie beams. "You're awake."

Nicky puts his hand to his throat.

"You had a breathing tube. You were really sick with meningitis but the antibiotics are working and my momma just took out your tube." Andie explains. "You'll be okay."

Nicky looks confused. He looks at his father.

"Do you remember me, son?"

Nicky nods and tries to talk.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Your mother called to tell me you were very sick. I wanted to see you."

Nicky nods.

"Is that okay with you?" Bruce asks.

Nicky has tears in his eyes. "Yes," he manages to whisper out.

"Would you like me to stay for the holidays? I can try to work it out with my job."

Nicky nods his head yes.

"Good." Bruce says. "Let me just step out in the hall and clear it with work. I'll be right back, son."

Charlotte's in the hall putting up flyers for the holiday party. She spots a strange man in the hallway. "Can I help you sir?"

"No." The man tells her.

"Are you here to visit a patient?"

"Uh…yeah." The man answers.

"What's their name? I'll show you to their room."

"I don't need help."

"You can't just stand around the hallways of the Intensive care unit. We have special policies for icu."

"I'm waiting for someone." He tells her.

"You'll have to wait in the waiting room just outside the doors." Charlotte tells him.

"I can stand here. I got permission from the doctor in charge."

"Who gave you permission?" Charlotte asks the man.

"I already told you. The doctor in charge."

"I'm the doctor in charge and I'm telling you to go to the waiting room."

"And I'm telling you no! You effin' bitch!" The man starts to get hostile.

Charlotte picks up the phone on the wall. "This is Dr. King. I need you to send a security officer up to the intensive care unit."

"Never mind, I'm going." The man growls at Charlotte. As the man walks out the doors of the intensive care unit, Bruce comes out of Nicky's room. He watches the guy walk away.

"What was he doing here?" Bruce asks Charlotte.

"Said he was waiting for someone. I told him he couldn't loiter in the intensive care unit and he got nasty with me. I called security and he left."

"Call me immediately if you see him around here again. Don't mess with him. Just call me."

"Huh?" Charlotte wrinkles her brow. "Who is he?"

Bruce pulls out a badge and shows Charlotte.

Charlotte reads the badge. "You're FBI?"

"Undercover, so please don't spread it around."

"I know how to keep my trap shut."

"Good."

"But, I want to know what this is about if I have bad guys walking around my hospital."

"He's looking for me. He's not going to harm anyone in your hospital."

"Okay." Charlotte sighs.

Bruce gets on the phone. Charlotte overhears him say. "He knows I'm here. You want me to take him down now or wait until we have more evidence?"

Bruce hangs up the phone. Charlotte looks at him. "You better not bring any trouble to my hospital."

"Let me say goodbye to my son and I'll be out of your hospital."

Charlotte nods as she watches Bruce walk back into Nicky's room.


	72. Chapter 72

_**CHAPTER 72**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks in Nicky's hospital room. "Congratulations." She tells him.<p>

"What for?" Nicky looks up from his iPad.

"You're being transferred to a regular room. No more intensive care for you."

"Yay!" Andie claps. "I better call Cody. The band has been dying to come up and visit you."

Nicky shuffles up in his bed. He asks Charlotte, "How soon until I can be discharged home? It's the holiday season, our band is busy. They need me." Nicky tells Charlotte.

"Maybe one more day in the hospital but I want you to take it easy. You can't be jumpin' around some stage. You need to get your strength back."

"But this is our busy season." Nicky reminds Charlotte. "We're booked and I'm lead singer."

"And guitarist." Andie adds. "You really gotta watch Nicky in action."

"I've seen him at some of our parties."

"No, momma. Those are tame. You gotta see Nicky when he's on stage performing at a real club."

"If Nicky's tame at those parties then Nicky definitely can't perform at the clubs. He was knocking on death's door just a few days ago." Charlotte takes Nicky's chart and leaves the room.

Nicky looks at Andie. "I need to sing at those Christmas parties. People booked us months ago."

"Just do what I do." Andie grins.

"What's that?"

"Tell my momma what she wants to hear and do what you want anyway." Andie grins.

"You are a bad girl, Alexandria Georgia Freedman."

"Now, you sound just like my momma, calling me by my full name."

Charlotte bumps into Cole and Amelia in the hall. "Ahem." She interrupts.

Amelia and Cole step a foot back from each other. "Hello, Charlotte." Cole smiles.

"Can I expect to see you both at the hospital holiday party this Friday night?"

Cole nods. "I'll be there with Jolie."

"Sheldon and I already rsvp'd." Amelia smiles.

"I'd love to stand here and chat all day ladies, but duty calls." Cole walks down the hall.

"What the hell is going on with you two?" Charlotte asks.

"Do you really want to know?" Amelia studies her friends face.

"Not really if you're going to tell me you're cheating on Sheldon."

"Then I'll keep my mouth shut." Amelia gives a little smirk.

"Sheldon's been good to you, Amelia. You've got kids together."

"And Dylan is my son with Cole."

"The child who Sheldon helped you raise."

"Relax, Charlotte. I'm not leaving Sheldon. I just need a little excitement."

"I don't want to hear anymore. Just tell me why Jolie's going to the holiday party with Cole then?"

"For the kids." Amelia tells her. "They both want to spend the holiday with the kids and make it nice for them."

"And once the holidays are over it's splitsville again?" Charlotte scowls.

"That's Cole and Jolie's idea, not mine." Amelia walks away.

* * *

><p>Cooper finishes the last touches on the outside of the house.<p>

"Momma's going to be surprised when she comes home." Drew jumps up and down.

"That's the idea, Squirt."

"Can we turn them on?" Drew asks.

"We can turn them on but they'll look much brighter when it's dark." Cooper tells him.

"I like the reindeers the best. They look like they're eating the grass." Drew runs over to the reindeer statues Cooper placed on the lawn.

Cooper turns on the switch. The whole house twinkles with holiday lights. Drew's eyes light up. "It looks awesome, daddy."

Cooper scoops Drew up into his arms. "Tonight's a big night, we have more surprises."

"What, daddy? Please tell me."

"When momma comes home from work we're going to get our Christmas tree _and_ you get to light the menorah tonight."

"Is it my turn to light it first this year?"

"It is." Cooper tousles Drew's blonde hair.

"Do I get a present tonight?"

"Something small for the first night of Chanukah because Santa's coming in a week with lots more presents for you, if you're good."

"I'm good! I'm good!" Drew exclaims, his voice full of excitement. "I can't wait for momma to come home so we can get our tree."

"C'mon Squirt. Let's go inside and have some hot chocolate."

Cooper carries Drew into the house. Noah and Chase come in the door a few minutes later. "Nice Christmas lights, dad, but I thought today was the first day of Chanukah?"

"It is. Drew's going to light the menorah tonight and we're shopping for our Christmas tree when your mother gets home."

Cooper makes hot chocolate for all his boys.

"When's momma gonna be home?" Drew asks impatiently.

"Soon." Cooper answers.

"Look, daddy!" Drew points to the fireplace. "Blinky is back on our mantle!" Drew refers to his Elf on A Shelf.

"That thing is creepy looking." Noah grimaces. "He's got a weird look on his face."

"Blinky's going to tell Santa on you. You're not going to get any presents."

Noah rolls his eyes.

"Momma's home!" Drew calls out as Charlotte walks in the door."Now we can get our tree." Drew hugs Charlotte tight.

"Nice job with the lights, Santa." Charlotte grins at Cooper.

"Daddy's not Santa." Drew corrects Charlotte.

"Where's Andie?" Cooper sips his hot chocolate.

"She's right behind me. She stopped to look at the reindeer on the lawn." Charlotte takes a sip out of Cooper's mug.

"The reindeer are my favorite too" Drew tells everyone. "Guess what?"

"What?" Cooper laughs at Drew's excitement. "We made reindeer food in school. We have to sprinkle it on the grass so the reindeer come to our house."

"I made that when I was in first grade." Noah recounts. "It's just oatmeal with glitter mixed in."

"Do the reindeer eat the glitter?" Chase asks Drew.

"No!" Drew exclaims. "The reindeer eat the oatmeal. The glitter is so they can see it from the sky!"

"Oh, now I get it." Chase smiles.

Andie comes in. "Nice lights, daddy."

"Good, everyone's here now." Cooper rubs his hands together. "Now we can get our tree."

"I'm into it." Andie smiles.

"What?" Charlotte smirks. "No visiting Nicky tonight?"

"Nope. His band is up at the hospital visiting him tonight. They have to get ready for the hospital Christmas party on Friday, unless you want to cancel them, momma."

"No, I don't want to cancel. Don't tell me they dragged all their equipment up to Nicky's room to practice?" Charlotte asks with her eyes wide.

"No, momma. Just a couple of guitars."

"I hope I don't get any phone calls about it." Charlotte rolls her eyes.

"Let's go get our tree!" Cooper calls out to his family.

He looks at Charlotte. "And _you,_ turn off your phone. This is our night."

After the kids leave to get in the car, Charlotte tells Cooper. "I have a surprise for you later."

Cooper raises his eyebrows up and down. "Is it a Mrs. Claus teddy?"

"No." Charlotte laughs. "It's better than that."

"Ooooh!" Cooper smiles. "I can't wait!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_

_Stacey: The band's name is *Spell Broken.* You can PM me or send me a tweet if you want me to explain the significance of the name. Thanks for reading/reviewing =)_


	73. Chapter 73

**_CHAPTER 73_**

* * *

><p>Cooper finishes stringing the lights on the tree. "Okay!" He calls out. "You can hang your ornaments now."<p>

Charlotte stands in front of the glowing fireplace. She watches her children hang their special ornaments on the tree. "Look momma." Andie shows an ornament to Charlotte. "It's a Belle ornament, dated 2017."

Charlotte looks at the ornament. "Nicky gave that to you when you were in kindergarten."

Cooper remembers, "You loved it but you were upset you didn't have a gift to give him."

"Why not?" Andie asks.

"We didn't talk to Leslie back then. We didn't expect Nicky to come to the door with a gift for you." Charlotte explains.

"Poor Nicky." Andie hangs the Belle ornament on the tree.

Drew hands Andie a Cinderella ornament. "This one says 2015."

"Santa brought you that one when you were three. That was when you were in your princess stage." Charlotte tells her.

Cooper sighs. "I miss those days."

Charlotte takes another ornament out of the box. "Here's Chase's Thomas the Train ornament." Charlotte hands the ornament to Chase." Grandma Augusta gave that to you when you were two years old." Charlotte sighs. She always misses her momma at Christmas.

"Maybe grandma Augusta can come visit us this Christmas." Chase notices his momma's mood change while looking at the ornament his grandma gave him.

"That would be nice but Grandma's got her health issues. She wouldn't want to be so far from home." The sound of disappointment echoes from her voice.

"I wanna put the angel on top of the tree!" Drew shouts.

"It's going to be hard to do that with one arm in a cast, Squirt, besides you're lighting the menorah later. Let someone else put the star on the tree." Cooper tells him.

"Ohhh!" Drew whines.

"Share, share, it's only fair." Charlotte gives her youngest a look.

"Fine." Drew pouts and hands the angel to Noah.

"Thanks, kiddo." Noah tries to reach the top of the tree.

"Ha! Ha!" Andie laughs at her brother. "You're such a shrimp."

"Yeah." Chase joins Andie in a little sibling teasing. "Drew will be able to reach the top of the tree before you."

"Stop." Cooper tells them. "Noah can't help it if he's petite like his momma."

"Hey!" Noah snaps at Cooper.

Charlotte tries to help. "You'll grow, Noah. You're about due for a growth spurt."

"Or else you can always work as one of Santa's little elves." Andie teases her brother while she hangs another ornament on the tree.

"Why is she even home tonight? Shouldn't you be visiting your sick boyfriend in the hospital?" Noah complains to Andie.

"Enough teasing." Charlotte tells her children. "This is supposed to be fun. Now let's make it fun." Charlotte says sternly.

"Who wants to help me set up the train tracks around the tree?" Chase asks.

"Me!" They all say.

Charlotte and Cooper sit next to the fire, watching their four children work together to put the tracks together. They get the little train running around the tree.

"Awesome!" Drew watches the train.

"It is cool." Andie smiles.

"How old is that train set, dad?" Noah asks.

"We got it when you were just a baby. It's fourteen years old." Cooper tells him.

"I can't believe it still works." Chase admires the train set.

Cooper wraps his arms around Charlotte. "This is what it's all about." He tells her. "This is the family I always wanted. Thank you."

"Thank you." Charlotte says softly back to him. "For makin' me realize this is what I wanted too."

"Yeah?" Cooper smiles.

"Yeah." Charlotte nods. "I couldn't imagine life without these guys." She looks at her four children.

The doorbell rings. "I'll get it." Noah runs to the door.

Nicky's younger sister is standing in front of him. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Noah let's Suzanna in the door. "I love your tree." She tells Noah.

"Hello, Suzie. What brings you here?" Cooper asks.

"There's a strange car that's been sitting in front of my house the last hour. It's making me a little nervous. Can I stay here until my parents come home?"

"Sure." Cooper gets up to look out the window. "Do you want me to go out there and see why he's parked in front of your house?"

Charlotte gets up to look now. She notices it's the same guy in the car that was at the hospital waiting for Nicky's father. "No Cooper, don't bother with him." Charlotte turns to Suzanna. "Suzie, where are your parents?"

"They went out to dinner. They wanted to talk in private about stuff."

"Do you know your dad's phone number?" Charlotte asks.

"Here." Suzanna hands Charlotte her iPhone. "It's in here."

Charlotte takes the phone into the kitchen for privacy and calls Bruce.

She comes out of the kitchen a few minutes later. "Your parents want you to stay here tonight." Charlotte tells Suzie.

"Why?" Suzanna furrows her young brow.

"They're going to get home late and they don't want you to be home all alone." Charlotte explains.

"Especially with that creep out there." Noah looks out the window.

"You can sleep in Andie's room with her tonight. We'll set up an air mattress for you." Charlotte tells her.

"Okay." Suzanna helps the Freedman children hang ornaments on the tree.

"That's it." Cooper announces. "We're done. All the ornaments are hung."

"It looks beautiful." Suzanna comments.

"Thanks, Suzie." Cooper smiles. "And now it's time for Drew to light the menorah."

"Hold on." Charlotte gets up and opens the closet. "I told you I had a surprise for you." She pulls a box wrapped in blue and white paper and hands it to Cooper.

"Wow!" Cooper teases the kids. "_I_ get the first Chanukah gift."

"Just open it." Charlotte smiles.

Cooper rips open the paper and pulls an old looking menorah out of the box. "This is my mother's menorah." Cooper stares at it. "I used to light this menorah when I was a kid."

"I know." Charlotte tells him. "I asked Aunt Flo for it after your mother passed away. I figured you'd like to have it."

"Thank you." Cooper wipes a tear from his eye.

"Don't you like it, Daddy?" Drew asks.

"I love it Drew."

"Why are you crying?" Drew asks.

"Because it was grandma's, duh!" Noah tells Drew. "Grandma died this year. It's dad's first Chanukah without his mother."

"Oh." Drew gets it now. "Please don't ever die, momma, even when your one hundred." Drew begs Charlotte.

"I'll try." Charlotte tells Drew. "Now let's get this thing lit."

Cooper helps Drew light the menorah. "I did it!" Drew tells Cooper. "It looks cool."

"It does." Cooper looks at Charlotte and whispers "thank you," again

"When can we open our Chanukah gifts?" Drew asks.

"Now." Cooper passes out a little box to each of his four kids. They all open them at the same time.

"You got us all dreidels?" Andie complains. "Again?"

"You get us a dreidel every year." Noah complains.

"It's a tradition." Cooper defends. "My parents got me a dreidel every year too."

"Just live with it." Chase tells them. "You'll get something else tomorrow night."

"I think it's someone's bedtime anyway." Charlotte tells Drew. "Time for your bath and bed."

"Can't we play the dreidel game first?" Drew tries to stall going to bed.

"Just one game." Charlotte tells him. Cooper puts some coins and chocholates in a bowl. The children spin the dreidel. Suzie ends up winning but decides to share her winnings with Drew.

"Alright. Time for bed." Charlotte tells Drew.

"I'll set up the air mattress in Andie's room for Suzie." Cooper goes up to the attic to retrieve the air mattress.

"You can borrow a pair of my pj's if you want." Andie tells Suzanna.

"Thanks."

Andie and Suzanna sit on Andie's bed while they wait for Cooper to bring the air mattress down.

"So, who do you think that strange guy is that's sitting in front of your house?" Andie asks.

"I don't know but it freaked me out." Suzanna answers in a raspy voice.

"Funny," Andie answers. "I never noticed before but you have a raspy voice like me."

"I guess that's because we're cousins." Suzanna shrugs.

"Not really." Andie tells her.

"Huh?"

"Does your family celebrate Chaunukah?" Andie asks Suzanna. "Have you ever spun a dreidel before in your life?"

"No we celebrate Christmas."

"If we were cousins then we should celebrate the same holidays." Andie explains.

"But that's only because your dad was adopted by a Jewish family and my mom was adopted by a Catholic family." Suzanna tells Andie.

"Don't you get it?" Andie asks her.

"Get what?"

"That's what cousins are about, sharing family and sharing traditions. Your dad and my mom are so opposite when it comes to that so we're only cousin's by dna, no other way."

"Yeah, Nicky told the same thing to my mother but she still doesn't like you guys to date."

"A lot of people feel that way, but we don't care if they don't understand us."

"It doesn't bother me what you and Nicky do. It's your business." Suzanna shrugs.

"Your dad told me the same thing."

"My dad's not so bad." Suzanna tells Andie.

"He seems like a nice guy to me." Andie agrees.

"He is most of the time but he has a bad temper. That's why my parents split up." Suzanna explains. "You don't wanna be around when his temper flares."

"I heard." Andie nods. "I think Nicky may have inherited a little of that temper."

"That's what my mom says." Suzanna agrees.

Cooper comes in the room with the air mattress. "Isn't this nice?" Cooper looks at the two girls talking on the bed. "It's good you're bonding, since you're cousins."

Andie flops her back down on the bed and puts her hand on her head. "Oy…"

"What?" Cooper looks at her.

"According to Andie, we're not cousins." Suzanna tells Cooper.

"Oy." Cooper agrees.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_

_Author's Note: Many of you ask me questions in your reviews. I like to answer the questions as a reward to the fans that review. If you are just asking out of curiosity and don't really want the answers because they spoil future chapters for you let me know. I will just thank you for reviewing and not answer your questions. This has been brought to my attention. I don't want fans not to review because they are afraid I will spoil the coming chapters for them. =) As always, thank you for reviewing!_


	74. Chapter 74

_**CHAPTER 74**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte looks stunning in her silver and gold shimmering gown. Cooper's in a tux. They walk into Giorgio's restaurant, arm in arm, for the hospital's formal Christmas party. Charlotte gets stopped half a dozen times by various members of her stafff to wish her a Happy Holiday.<p>

"Is there anyone working at the hospital tonight?" Cooper jokes. "Everyone's here."

"They're working on a skeleton crew at St. Ambrose tonight. I sent a couple trays of food and cookies to them."

"You're a good boss, Chief." Cooper kisses her on the cheek before leading her to the table where Violet and Pete are already seated with Addison and Sam.

"Good choice picking to have the party here, Charlotte." Sam gets up to greet Charlotte and Cooper. "Happy Holidays." He shakes Cooper's hand.

Addison tells Charlotte. "The appetizers are to die for. We need to come here to eat more often."

Cooper pulls out a chair for Charlotte to sit in."I'll fix you a plate." Cooper tells his wife before making his way to the buffet table. Charlotte's seated next to Violet. Amelia and Sheldon show up next. "Where's the food?" Sheldon asks while looking at Addison's plate.

"Over there." Addison points. Sheldon makes his way to the buffet table while Amelia takes a seat next to Charlotte.

"How's it going?" Violet asks Amelia.

"Good, good." Amelia sighs.

"You and Sheldon doing okay?" Charlotte asks.

Amelia leans back in her chair. "We're still sleeping in seperate bedrooms if that's what you want to know."

Charlotte asks Amelia discreetly. "Are you two fighting over Cole?"

Amelia answers not so discreetly. "We're keeping the peace for Sara's sake. We're keeping everything the same ole' same ole' as usual, breakfast in the morning with the kids, dinner at night. Booooring." Amelia stretches out the word.

The rest of the gang perk their ears up. Most of them already sensed the tension between Amelia and Sheldon since Dylan was diagnosed with Hodgkins.

Violet sips at her peppermint martini. "Sometimes boring is good, excitement is over rated."

"Now, I agree with that." Sam picks through his bowl of clams and mussels marinara.

"Look who just walked in together." Charlotte gestures towards Jolie and Cole.

"It's just for show." Amelia tells Charlotte. "You know Jolie, _everything _is about appearances for her." Amelia's not thrilled to see Jolie hanging onto Cole's arm even if it's just for show.

Jolie and Cole approach the table. "Mind if we sit with you?" Cole asks.

"Of course not." Amelia's the first to answer.

"Where's Cooper?" Jolie asks Charlotte.

"He's in hog heaven over at the buffet table, fixing us each a plate."

"I hope he's watching his diet, with that cholesterol problem of his." Jolie looks over at Cooper. "We don't want him to have another heart attack."

"I'm gonna cut him some slack for tonight." Charlotte tells her. "The food is too good here to pass up, sides it's the holidays." Charlotte shrugs.

"That's right." Addison swallows down some raw oysters. "All diets are out the window tonight."

"Here." Pete passes an appetizer to Amelia. "Try these stuffed mushrooms."

"Mmm. That is good." Amelia agrees. Violet looks on, staring at Amelia.

"Why are you so quiet tonight, Violet?" Charlotte asks.

Violet shakes out of her trance. "Me quiet? I guess I need another drink to fix that." Violet get up from the table, heading for the bar.

"Wait for me." Charlotte gets up to follow her.

* * *

><p>Andie's home with Drew and Noah watching *The Polar Express.* Andie pops a mouthful of popcorn into her mouth. Drew grabs a handful and pops it into his mouth before he starts gagging.<p>

"What's wrong, kiddo? Andie pats his back. "Did it go down the wrong pipe?"

Drew continues to gag until he ends up vomiting his popcorn, some gets on his cast.

"Eww! Nasty. That cast's going to stink after the vomit ferments into it." Noah jumps up off the couch.

"Good thing momma is a doctor, Drew. She can change your cast tomorrow." Andie tells her little brother. Drew vomits again. "Get some paper towels and help me clean this up." Andie orders Noah.

Noah holds his shirt over his nose. The doorbell rings. "Ah, saved by the bell." Noah runs to answer the door, leaving Andie to clean the vomit.

Noah's surprised to find Suzanna on the other side of the door. "W'sup?" He asks her.

Suzanna appears frazzled. "Can I come in?" She walks in before Noah has a chance to answer.

"Make yourself at home." Noah teases. "But I must warn you, my little brother just barfed."

"Someone tried to break in my house." Suzanna tells Noah, her voice shaking.

"What?" Noah's surprised to hear this.

"I heard someone trying to break in the front door. I ran out the back door and came right here. I'm freaked."

"Andie!" Noah calls. "Someone just broke in Suzie's house!"

Andie cleans up the mess and calls out "Where are your parents, Suzie?"

"They went to a Christmas party for my mother's job." Suzanna walks inot thefamily room to speak to Andie.

"My parents are at a Christmas party for my momma's job tonight too." Noah tells Suzie.

"I'm scared. There's someone in my house." Suzanna starts to cry and shake.

Andie rises up to give Suzie a hug. "You call your parents to tell them. I'll call the police." Andie looks out the window at Suzie's house before calling the police.

* * *

><p>The waitress passes out lobster bisque soup with filet mignon or chicken cordon blue for dinner. "Incredible dinner." Pete's tells Charlotte.<p>

Charlotte grins. "I can't take credit. I just booked the place. I'm not the chef."

Addison pats her belly. "I'm so full from all the appetizers, I don't have any room left for dinner."

"I warned you about that." Sam tastes the soup.

Cooper raises his glass. "Happy Holiday's," he toasts. They all reach across the table to clink glasses with each other.

"So, what are you doing for the Christmas, this year?" Violet asks Charlotte and Cooper.

"We're staying home with the kids. You're welcome to come to dinner. Bring Lucas and Lila, the kids would love it." Charlotte spoons some lobster bisque into her mouth.

"Okay." Violet looks at Pete. "It's just going to be the four of us this year, we'd love to come over. Lila would love to take care of the desert menu for you."

"Fine with me." Charlotte tastes her chicken. "You're welcome to come too." Charlotte tells Addison and Sam.

"We can't." Addison repliess. "The captain and Archer are coming this year for Christmas, unless you want to invite them too?"

"Nah, I think not." Cooper tells her. Cooper isn't thrilled with all the lewd remarks Archer has passed over the years about the time he slept with Charlotte. Archer never seems to let Cooper forget the one time he had his wife.

Charlotte turns her attention to Amelia "What about you, Amelia? You and Sheldon are welcome to come."

"I thought I told you, we're going to Seattle to visit Derek and Meredith this Christmas."

"You didn't mention it to me." Addison pipes up.

Amelia sips on red wine. "They invited us months ago. Derek decided to have a big shindig with all my sisters, nieces and nephews this year."

"Sounds nice." Charlotte cuts up her chicken.

"How about you?" Cooper asks Jolie and Cole. "What are your plans for Christmas?"

"We're taking Marley and Cole junior to Universal Studios to visit The Harry Potter Park. They just added a new section." Jolie explains.

"I didn't know you were doing that." Amelia tells Cole with a tad bit of annoyance to her tone. She's not thrilled at the idea of him and Jolie going out of town together.

"Why would you?" Jolie smirks at Amelia.

Amelia retorts. "It would have been nice if you invited Dylan since he is Cole's son too…."

Addison interrupts. "Don't you want Dylan to spend the holidays with Derek, Amelia? Dylan doesn't see your relatives much."

"Of course I do, but it would have been nice if Cole and Jolie at least asked about taking Dylan with them. He read all the Harry Potter books too."

"Do you want us to take Dylan with us, Amelia?" Cole asks flat out.

"No, I want Dylan to spend Christmas with my family." Amelia answers.

"So, let me get this straight, Amelia?" Jolie scoffs. "You wanted us to ask... just so you could say no…-"

Sheldon interrupts. "Isn't this nice?" Sheldon's voice is loaded with sarcasm.. "It's just the adults tonight. We don't have to play referee with fighting kids."

* * *

><p>The police question Suzanna about the guy who she saw parked in front of her house the other night. She gives them a description. She hesitates before telling the officer. "My father works for the FBI. He's on his way home now."<p>

"That changes everything." The officer tells her. Andie and Noah listen intently while Suzanna talks to the police officer.

Drew starts gagging on the couch again. "Not again." Andie runs over to him just as he barfs more popcorn on the floor. "Why are you still eating the popcorn, Drew?"

"You didn't tell me I couldn't eat anymore." Drew answers.

"You're barfing. Everyone know not to eat after they barf."

"I felt better after I barfed. I was hungry again."

Andie takes the bowl of popcorn away from Drew. "You're not eating anymore tonight." Andie grabs more paper towels and grumbles. "I'm demanding to get paid tonight. Momma and daddy are out having fun while I'm cleaning up barf, dealing with a hysterical girl and the cops."

"Who are you talking to?" Drew asks Andie.

"To myself." Andie gripes as she wipes up the floor. "Now stop barfing. They can't pay me enough for tonight." Andie rolls her eyes

* * *

><p>.<p>

Nicky's band takes the stage at Giorgio's. Nicky starts out singing. *Moves like Jagger* to get the crowd motivated. He moves around the stage in rhythm with the music. Nicky sings "_I got the moves like Jagger~~~~ I got the moves like Jagger."_

"Look at him move." Amelia admires Nicky's dancing. "He really can move like Jagger." Amelia sips some champagne.

"You're old enough to be his mother." Sheldon reminds his wife.

"Thanks Sheldon." Amelia scoffs. "Was that supposed to make me feel good?"

"Let her look, Sheldon." Addison laughs. "As long as she doesn't touch."

Cooper sighs. "Please don't tell me you're oogling over my daughter's boyfriend."

Charlotte watches Nicky and comments. "I told that boy, I didn't want him jumping all around the stage tonight. He was just released from the hospital the other day."

Amelia sips more champagne. "You could never tell that dude was in the intensive care unit last week, he bounced back nicely."

"He does bounce nicely." Addison watches while sipping her wine.

"Wooo! He sure does." Amelia hoot out.

"Isn't he a little young for you to get that excited about, Amelia." Cole adds.

"My husband can get away with saying that, but you can't." Amelia quips at Cole.

"Sorry." Cole apologizes.

"Didn't you people ever hear of the term cougar?" Violet smirks, asking Cole. "Amelia's a cougar."

"I am not." Amelia defends.

"Can you all just stop watching my daughters's boyfriend like that." Cooper insists with a hint of teasing to his voice.

"We can," Violet chuckles, "...if you tell him to stop shaking his bootie like that."

Charlotte and Cooper exchange looks with each other. For the next song, Nicky and the female singer sing their rendition of *Baby It's Cold Outside.* Charlotte grabs Cooper by the arm. "C'mon, big guy, let's dance."

"Yes ma'am." Cooper gets up, letting Charlotte lead him to the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Bruce and Leslie talk to the police officer. Bruce goes with him to his house to see if anything is missing. Leslie comforts an upset, Suzanna.<p>

Charlotte and Cooper arrive home from the party. They rush in the house after seeing the police car in their driveway. "What happened?" Charlotte's voice is frantic. She looks at Leslie, Noah, Andie and Suzanna.

"It's okay, momma." Noah's the first to answer. "Someone broke into their house. Suzie was home alone so she ran over here and we called the cops."

"Is everyone alright?" Charlotte asks.

"Everyone is fine." Leslie tells Charlotte.

"Where are the cops?" Cooper asks.

"They went to the house with Bruce to see if anything is missing." Noah tells them.

"You're welcome to stay here tonight, if Suzie is afraid to go home." Charlotte offers.

"Thank you. I think we'll take you up on that. At least for Suzie, she can stay." Leslie tells Charlotte.

"What are you doing for Christmas dinner?" Cooper asks Leslie, knowing his sister was raised Catholic.

"I don't know." Leslie answers. "Things have been so crazy with Nicky getting sick and Bruce coming back, I haven't thought about Christmas dinner."

"We'd love to have you." Cooper insists. "All of you, the whole family."

"Thank you." Leslie nods. "We'd like that."

Drew wakes up. He calls down from the top of the stairs. "Momma, I don't feel well."

Andie tells Charlotte "He's been barfing all night."

Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Looks like you had an exciting night here."

"I did and now I'm going to bed. Drew's all yours now." Andie walks up the steps.

"Now you know what it's like to be a momma." Cooper teases Andie as she walks up the steps.

"Good." Charlotte smiles at Cooper before she picks up Drew. "She won't ever forget to take her birth control." Charlotte smirks and carries Drew into the bathroom to wash him up.

Cooper chuckles.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW =)<strong>_


	75. Chapter 75

**CHAPTER 75 - CHRISTMAS EVE**

* * *

><p><em><strong>ENJOY!<strong>_

* * *

><p>Drew's wearing his red and green flannel Christmas pj's. "Where's daddy?" The little blonde boy asks his momma.<p>

Charlotte ruffles her youngest son's hair. "Daddy said he had to go out and pick up a last minute Christmas present."

"But it's already dark out. Santa will be here soon." Drew worries. "Chase went with him and if he's not in bed Santa won't come."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon. The stores are always crowded on Christmas Eve." Charlotte takes Drew's hand. "Come help me put out the cookies and milk for Santa."

"Okay." Drew goes with Charlotte into the kitchen.

Noah and Andie sit near the tree looking through the brightly wrapped presents for one with their name. Andie picks one up and shakes it. "This is definitely clothes. Probably a shirt."

"How can you tell?" Noah asks.

"By the soft sounding shake and the size of the box. That…-" She points to the present in Noah's hand. "…is a video game."

"Aha." Noah agrees. "But can you tell me which one?"

"Which one did you ask for?"

"I asked for five of them."

Andie laughs. "Then, it's anyone's guess."

Noah laughs. "I don't think momma has a clue what present Dad and Chase are bringing her for Christmas."

"She doesn't." Andie agrees. "She's going to be surprised."

"I can't wait to see momma's face when they come home."

Charlotte helps Drew carry the cookies and milk for Santa and place them on the fireplace mantle. "Okay, all set for Santa." Charlotte tells him. "Say goodnight to Andie and Noah."

"Goodnight." Drew's voice is full of excitement on the night before Christmas. "What book are we reading tonight, momma?" Drew asks Charlotte.

"The Night Before Christmas." Charlotte smiles. "What else?"

"Race you upstairs!" Drew runs up the steps, beating his momma to his bed. Charlotte reads to her youngest child and kisses him goodnight. She sits with him until he falls asleep. She wonders how many more years of Christmas magic she has left before he stops believing. She's going to enjoy every moment of his childhood as long as she can. After she's sure he's asleep, she looks out the window wondering where Cooper and Chase are. It's late for them to be out on Christmas Eve. Charlotte walks back downstairs.

"Hey, momma." Noah calls out. Noah and Andie are finishing off the plate of cookies that Charlotte and Drew placed out for Santa.

"You know you both have to work for that now." Charlotte smirks at them.

"What do you want us to do?" Andie sighs.

"Bring that Elf On A Shelf back up to the attic. He's supposed to leave after Christmas Eve." Charlotte tells Andie.

"You do it, Noah. That little elf has creeped me out since I was Drew's age."

"Fine." Noah takes the small elf dressed in a red Santa's outfit off the mantle.

"Go with Noah to the attic." Charlotte tells Andie. "He'll need help carrying down all Drew's Christmas presents. They're hid in the attic behind daddy's old piano."

"Do I look like Santa Claus?" Andie gripes as she follows Noah upstairs to retrieve Drew's presents.

"That's what you get for eating all Santa's cookies." Charlotte teases her daughter.

The front door opens. Cooper and Chase are finally home. Cooper's grinning from ear to ear.

"Where have you been? Charlotte asks with her hands placed on her hips.

"Merry Christmas!" Cooper bellows out. "HO! HO! HO!"

Charlotte's face lights up like a child when her own momma walks in the door behind Cooper. "Momma!" Charlotte's eyes are wide with excitement. She wasn't sure when she would get to see her momma again. She's been thinking about it a lot since Cooper's mother died this year.

"Hey darlin'." Augusta greets Charlotte.

"I can't believe you're here." Charlotte gives her momma a hug. It's something Charlotte has gotten a lot better at since she has had children of her own.

"I wanted to surprise you." Momma looks both happy and a little bit like she's suffocating from her daughter's hug. Momma still hasn't got used to all the hugs that she seems to get when she visits the Freedman family.

"Come sit down, momma. You look good." Charlotte sits next to her momma on the couch while Cooper and Chase carry her luggage in. "You don't look like you aged a bit since I saw you last."

"I s'pose I do look good for a woman my age." Augusta agrees.

"You're seventy seven momma. You still got a lot of good years left."

"You never know." Augusta answers. "Look at Cooper's parents. They both died unexpectedly and they weren't much older than I am now when they died."

"I know momma. Cooper misses his parents terribly but just cuz they died doesn't mean you're checking out soon too."

"Your father was cheated out of his life. The man was only sixty when he died." Augusta tells Charlotte, shaking her head.

"I think about Big daddy all the time momma. I wish my kids could have known him."

"It's okay darlin'." Augusta reminds Charlotte, pattting her knee. "Big daddy lives on in your children. Your boy, Noah, is the spittin' image of Big daddy."

"Don't I know it." Charlotte laughs. "Noah's more like Big daddy then you know."

Andie and Noah come down the stairs carrying Drew's presents. They put them under the tree before turning to greet Augusta.

"Hey grandma." Andie gives Augusta a hug.

"Oh my? More hugging." Augusta smiles. "Let me get a look at you, baby girl."

"You look good, grandma." Andie comments.

"Stop lyin'." Augusta teases. "I'm an old woman but you are a beautiful girl. You remind me of your momma at your age, aside from the red hair."

"She gets the red hair from Cooper's biological mother." Charlotte tells Augusta.

"Can we please not talk about daddy's biological mother on Christmas Eve." Andie tells Charlotte. Cooper's biological mother is a sore subject for Andie considering she's Nicky's grandmother.

Noah gives Augusta a hug. "You look just like Big daddy." Augusta hugs Noah back.

Cooper and Chase come into the room. "So, did we surprise you, momma?"

"You got me good." Charlotte tells Chase. "I had no idea why you two were out so late on Christmas Eve."

"It wasn't supposed to be this late." Cooper tells Charlotte. "Your mom's connecting flight was delayed."

"Yes and I'm exhausted." Augusta yawns. "It's been a long day."

"I'll show you to your room." Chase helps his grandma off the couch.

"Merry Christmas. I'll talk to you all in the morning." Augusta follows Chase down the hall.

"So, are you happy?" Cooper asks Charlotte.

"Let me show you." Charlotte pulls Cooper under the mistletoe hung by the front door. She wraps her arms around him.

"Gross. I'm going to bed." Noah turns his face away from his kissing parents and walks up the stairs.

"Ditto. I'm with you." Andie follows Noah upstairs to go to bed.

Charlotte kisses Cooper for over a minute before coming up for air. "Wow! You are happy." Cooper grins.

"I have a surprise for you up in the bedroom." Charlotte pulls Cooper by the wrist.

"Let me guess. A Santa nightie?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Charlotte laughs.

"Awww!" Cooper whines.

They get in the bedroom. Cooper sits on the bed waiting in anticipation. Charlotte opens the closet and takes out a small box. She hands it to Cooper.

"What's this?" Cooper asks. It's wrapped in the same blue and white paper as the menorah she gave him.

"Open it, silly."

Cooper tears open the paper. He pulls out a gold picture frame containing a letter. "This looks like my mother's handwriting."

"It is." Charlotte answers. "It's a letter your mother wrote to your biological mother."

"What?" Cooper furrows his brow.

"Aunt Flo found it in the attic while they were cleaning out your parent's house. She told me about it so I asked her to send it."

Cooper reads the letter out loud.

"_My name is Mary Freedman. My husband, Marvin, and I adopted your infant son. I felt the need to write and let you know how your little boy has saved our lives. My husband and I lost our son, Andy, to a terminal illness. After Andy died, Marvin and I felt like we couldn't go on. Our once joyous home had become a quiet and lonely place. Your son has brought both joy and hope back into our home and into our hearts. We named him Cooper. Cooper's a delightful baby. We look foward to waking up to his smile every morning. I want to thank you for your unselfish decision to let us raise your infant son. He is now our infant son. We will love and cherish Cooper until the day we die. I am forever in your gratitude-Sincerly Mary Freedman._

Cooper finishes reading the letter with tears in his eyes. "I wonder why she never sent it."

"Aunt Flo and I wondered the same thing. We figured either the lawyers wouldn't let her send it due to the confidentiality laws or she just chickened out."

Cooper chuckles. "That helps." Cooper kisses Charlotte and then tells her. "I brought you your mother for Christmas and you brought me mine." Cooper rubs his hand over the letter written by his mother long ago.

"Merry Christmas." Charlotte kissed Cooper back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE Eve! <strong> _


	76. Chapter 76

_**CHAPTER 76 - CHRISTMAS DAY at The FREEDMAN'S**_

* * *

><p>"It's six am. Drew opens the door and pounces on Charlotte and Cooper's bed. "Merry Christmas, momma. Merry Christmas, Daddy."<p>

Charlotte opens her eyes and turns over to look at him. "Merry Christmas, Squirt."

Cooper turns over. "What time is it?"

Charlotte looks at the clock. "Six am."

Cooper wipes his hand across his sleepy eyes. "Why so early, Squirt?"

"Because it's Christmas!" Drew announces with excitement. "I want to see if Santa came."

"Did you set your alarm?" Cooper teases him. "It's too early, Squirt. Nobody else is up yet."

"Please wake up, daddy. I want to see my presents."

"Okay, okay." Cooper concedes.

"Let momma and daddy brush our teeth and freshen up a little. We'll meet you downstairs, but don't open anything until we get there."

"Okay!" Drew runs down the stairs. He spots a new bright green bike sitting under the tree, unwrapped. He runs over to it before noticing an old woman sitting on the couch. She's wearing a red robe with white fur trim. She looks at the young boy. "Do you know who I am?" The older woman asks.

Drew nods. "You're Mrs. Claus."

The older woman chuckles. "No. I'm not Mrs. Claus. I'm your grandma. Your momma is my baby girl."

"Oh, hello." Drew looks over his grandma.

The older woman speaks to him. "The last time you came to visit me you were three years old. I don't 'spect that you would remember me, I guess."

"Sorry." Drew apologizes, realizing he hurt the older woman's feelings.

"It's not your fault, darlin'. Your momma needs to bring you to Alabama more often to see your kin. You've got uncles and a truck load of cousins living in Alabama."

"My momma's got an important job. She's real busy."

"Ain't nothing more important than your family, sugar. You need to know where you came from."

"Did Santa bring you here to surprise me and my momma?" Drew asks.

"Actually, he did."

"How was it?" Drew asks. "Riding on Santa's sleigh? Was it fun?"

"Let's just say it was a bumpy flight."

"Did you get to come down the chimney with Santa?"

Augusta laughs. "No dear. I'm too old for that. Santa let me in the front door."

Drew looks over at the tree now. "Wow!"

There are at least two dozen colorfully wrapped gifts. He counts the gifts with his name. "I got the most presents." Drew tells his grandma.

"Why's that?" She asks.

"Because I'm the goodest. Noah said Blinky was creepy. That's why I got more than him."

"Who's Blinky?"

"Our Elf On A Shelf. He goes to the North Pole every night and reports to Santa if we were good or bad. Then, he comes back the next morning but he's always hiding in a different spot and we have to find him." Drew explains.

"Oh, I see." Augusta rises to a standing position when she notices Charlotte and Cooper stroll into the room. "Merry Christmas." She greets them each with a hug and smile.

"Merry Christmas." Charlotte hugs her momma before turning her attention to an excited Drew.

"Look what I got for Christmas!" Drew shouts.

"I see." Charlotte smiles. "A new bike."

"That too." Drew tells her. "But Santa brought me my grandma. He put her on the couch by the tree."

"Really?" Charlotte grins at her momma. "That was very thoughtful of Santa."

"Yeah," Drew agrees. "Santa brought her here since you never take me to Alabama to see her. It's important for me to know my kin and where I came from."

Charlotte gives her mother a disapproving look. Drew and her momma must have been talking before she came downstairs.

"You know what they say." Augusta tells Charlotte. "Out of the mouths of babes come the truth."

"Can I open all my presents now?" Drew asks.

"Start opening." Charlotte agrees. Cooper goes back upstairs to wake the rest of the kids.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Violet and Pete ring the bell with Lucas and Lila in tow. "Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah" Pete hands Cooper a bottle of liquor wrapped in festive paper.<p>

"Merry Christmas." Cooper takes the bottle from Pete. "This should come in handy before dinner."

Lila walks in carrying a big tray of cookies. "Where should I put these? I made all different kinds of Christmas cookies and fudge."

"Perfect." Cooper tells Lila. "You can put them in the kitchen."

"It smells good in here." Violet takes in the scent. "What are you cooking?"

"Oh, there's plenty to eat." Charlotte tells Violet. "Cooper's cooking a turkey with all the trimmings and momma's making her home made macaroni and cheese. Wait 'til you taste it. It's to die for."

"I can't wait." Violet takes off her coat. "I haven't ate all day."

"Been savin' your apetite. That's good." Charlotte takes Violet's coat to hang up.

Violet follows Charlotte into the kitchen.

Lucas plays video games with Chase, Noah and Drew while Lila's in the kitchen looking at all the food.

"Thank you for making the cookies Lila. They look delicious." Charlotte greets the mini Violet.

"Thank you, Aunt Charlotte. I want to be a pastry chef when I grow up." Lila tells her before leaving to meet up with Noah in the family room.

Charlotte chuckles and tells Violet. "At least Lucass wants to be a doctor like you and Pete. I don't know if any of mine will follow in Cooper and my footsteps."

"That's alright." Violet shrugs. "As long as she chooses something that makes her happy, I'll support whatever Lila wants to do, besides she's thirteen I expect her to change her mind five times before she grows up."

"This is true but Andie's been saying she wants to be a veterinarian since she was four and she's still saying it at seventeen."

"Where is Andie?" Violet asks.

"She's in her room getting ready. Nicky's family is coming to dinner. She wants to look her best."

"Isn't Nicky's family actually Cooper's sister and her family?"

"Right." Charlotte agrees. "But please don't bring that up in front of Andie. It's a sore subject."

Violet nods. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one having issues with my child."

"Which one of yours has you chasing your tail?" Charlotte asks.

"Lila. She pretends to eat. She thinks I'm the world's biggest idiot and that I believe she eats all this stuff she bakes."

The doorbell rings. Cooper lets Bruce, Leslie, and Suzanna in. "Merry Christmas." He greets them.

"I brought some Christoposomo." Bruce hands the Christmas bread to Cooper. "It's a tradition in our house to have this with Christmas dinner."

"Good just what we need, more food." Cooper jokes.

Andie comes downstairs to greet them. She's wearing a clingy red top with a short black velvet skirt and black tights. Her red hair is pulled up in the back with a black velvet ribbon.

"I love your outfit." Suzie tells Andie in her raspy voice.

"Thank you." Andie answers with an equal rasp to her voice.

Cooper chuckles and tells Leslie. "Can you tell they're cousins? They have the same rasp."

Leslie smiles. "It's cute. It must be a family thing."

Andie rolls her eyes and walks away.

"Yeah." Cooper agrees. "When Andie was young we had her checked out to see why she was so raspy but they said it was just her."

Leslie nods. "Suzanna too. We thought there was something wrong with her vocal cords. Good thing Nicky didn't inherit it. I don't know how it would effect his singing voice."

Cooper takes Leslie's coat. "It's a good thing Nicky takes after Bruce's family, then."

"Yes. Nicky is all Bruce. He didn't get much of my genes." Leslie nods.

"Which is good considering he's dating my daughter."

Leslie rolls her eyes. "I hope that blows over soon. It just doesn't sit right with me."

"Kids will be kids." Cooper chuckles. "They have to find some way to turn our hair gray."

Pete calls out to Cooper from the couch. " Is that why you're starting to get a bit of a salt and pepper look?" He teases.

"Oh please!" Cooper scoffs at Pete in a joking tone. "At least I still have my hair."

"Hey! I have hair." Pete smiles and quips back, rubbing his hand over his head. His hairline has recently started receding. "And it's not gray."

"Not yet!" Cooper points out. "I give you six more months."

Andie strolls back over and joins the conversation. "Your not grey, daddy."

"Thank you, Andie Candy." Cooper tweeks his daughters nose. He knows he can get away with treating her like a litttle girl again on Christmas. There's something about Christmas.

Andie laughs and tweeks Cooper's nose back before asking Leslie "Can I take those cookies into the kitchen for you?"

Leslie hands the tray to her. "These are melomakarona's. Nicky loves them. We make them at Christmas time in our house."

Andie picks up a cookie and tastes it. "Uhm, they are good."

"Hope they don't contain nuts." Cooper jokes. He tells Andie. "You can't kiss Nicky if you've eaten nuts."

"No nuts in these cookies because of Nicky." Leslie looks at Cooper again. "Thank you for inviting our family. Suzie is so excited to spend Christmas with all of you."

"Where is Nicky?" Andie asks Leslie.

"He's coming from his cottage. He should be here soon."

Andie sits on the couch next to Augusta while she waits for Nicky to show up. "Is this Nicky your boyfriend?" Augusta asks.

"Yes." Andie nods.

"Tell me about him."

"You'll meet him soon, nanna, but I promise you'll love him."

Cooper answers the doorbell again. Nicky's standing in front of him with a bag full of presents.

"Who do we have here? Santa Claus?" Cooper teases Nicky.

Andie gets up to give Nicky a soft, quick kiss under the mistletoe.

"Now that everyone is here, we can eat." Cooper announces. Everyone takes a seat at the table except Noah, Suzanna, Lila and Drew who have been assigned to the kid's table.

Violet helps Cooper and Charlotte bring the food out from the kitchen. "Everything looks so good." Leslie smiles.

"Let's have a toast!" Cooper suggests. "Merry Christmas everyone!"

"And a Happy Chanukah to you!" Leslie toasts Cooper.

"This is nice; having Christmas dinner with family and friends." Bruce comments.

"That's what it's all about." Cooper agrees.

Lila eats a forkful of turkey, followed by a forkful of mashed potatoes, followed by a forkful of stuffing and repeats the cycle again. Noah stares in amazement. "Wow, Lila you're eating really good."

"I told everyone I eat good." Lila smirks. After she's done, Lila excuses herself to use the bathroom. Noah watches suspiciously as she walks away.

Bruce's mobile phone rings, He excuses himself to take the phone call outside. After a few minutes, he comes back in and announces he has to leave on a work matter.

"But, Papa. It's Christmas." Suzanna whines.

"I'm sorry, Suzanna. I have no choice."

Charlotte's the next one to get called in to work. "I'm sorry but there's an issue at the hospital. I need to go in for a little while."

"But, momma, it's Christmas." Drew whines. "Please, don't go!"

Cooper explains." Your momma and Suzanna's daddy have very important jobs. Sometimes they have to work on the holidays, Squirt."

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Merry Christmas" Charlotte apologizes to the disappointed group as they finish their Christmas dinner.

After Charlotte leaves, Nicky looks around the table. The mood has become quiet and sullen since Bruce and Charlotte both were pulled away for work calls. Drew and Suzanna may have been the only one's to complain but he can tell that all of the Freedman children want their momma home for Christmas. He looks at his sister. He knows how she was looking forward to spending this Christmas with their papa. Nicky can't take all the sullen faces on Christmas. He does what he knows how to do best.

"It's Christmas. We're going to have some fun." Nicky announces before he starts.

~~~_ Jingle Bell..., Jingle Bell..., Jingle Bell Rock... Jingle Bell Swing... and Jingle Bells ring~~~ _"Take it Belle!" He tells Andie.

Andie sings~~~_Snowing and blowing in jingle bell land... have bushels of fun." _Andie shrugs and laughs it off that she messed up the line."Your turn, dad," she tells Cooper.

_"Uhm." Cooper thinks of the words~~~Now the Jingle Bell hop has begun.~~~_Cooper points to Violet "Take it away!"

Violet chuckles as she sings ~~~_Jingle Bell... Jingle bell... Jingle bell Rock~~_Violet looks at Pete "You're up."

"Skip me." Pete smiles. " I can''t sing." Pete tells Lila "You go."

Lila sings~~~_Jingle Bells Chime and Jingle Bells rhyme." _Lila looks at Noah. "Go Noah!"

"I don't know it." Noah says, looking at Chase.

"Neither do I." Chase laughs.

Nicky takes over again.~~~"_What a bright time ~~~ It's the right time~~~ To rock the night away~~~ Jingle bell time is a swell time~~To go gliding in a one horse sleigh~~~. _

"Everyone sing!" Nicky tells them. They sing the chorus together, including Drew and Augusta.

~~~~_Jingle Bell... Jingle Bell... Jingle Bell Rock...Jingle Bell Swing...-" _They all laugh and sing together.

Cooper looks around the table at this family and friends smiling and having a good time, even Pete seems to have joined in on the fun. He wishes Charlotte could see this. He gets up to grab his iPad and starts recording. Charlotte's gonna love this present, he smiles and records for her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MERRY CHRISTMAS!<strong>_


	77. Chapter 77

_**CHAPTER 77 - SAFE HOUSE**_

* * *

><p>It's the week between Christmas and New Years. Andie and Nicky are both off from work and school. They decide to be lazy today. They lie in bed watching movies in between cuddles and kisses. It's twelve noon. They're lying together in the afterglow when they both jolt up at the sound of someone pounding loudly on the cottage door. "What the hell?" Andie pulls the sheet up to her neck.<p>

"I'll see who it is." Nicky quickly grabs his jeans off the floor and pulls them on. He pulls his t-shirt over his head before he opens the door. "Papa? What are you pounding on the door so loud for?"

"Come on! We've got to go." Bruce goes to grab Nicky's arm.

Nicky pulls his arm back.

"You have to come with me, Nick!" His father orders. Andie stands by the bedroom door, listening, as she pulls a sweatshirt and jeans on.

"Where?" Nicky asks, confused.

"There are some bad people after me. They're making threats against my family now. You need to go into hiding until we arrest all these guys."

"How long will that take?" Nicky asks, rubbing his brow.

Bruce shrugs. "We should have them all arrested with in the next two or three days, a week the max. I promise, now let's go."

"I have to get a few things."

"Okay, but hurry." Bruce tells him.

"Where are you taking him?" Andie comes to the front door asking.

"To a safe house. His mother and Suzanna are already on the way there."

"Can I come?" Andie asks.

"No."

"Why?" Andie asks.

"I would have to tell your parents. This is FBI. We're working undercover."

"Please let me come. My parents won't say anything to anybody if you tell them not to." Andie pleads.

"I'm not going without Andie, papa. If you want me to come, Andie comes too."

"Fine. I don't have time for this. " Bruce agrees. "Let's move."

Bruce drives Andie and Nicky fifty miles out of town to an FBI safe house. "You can't leave and you have to give me your phones, no outside contact while you're in the safe house. There will be guards outside if you need anything." Bruce explains.

"Can you please explain this to my parents so they don't worry about me?" Andie asks Bruce.

"I'll tell them. "Bruce nods before driving away.

The guard escorts Andie and Nicky into the house. Leslie greets them with Suzanna. "They didn't tell us Andie was coming."

"I wanted to come." Andie holds Nicky's hand.

"Won't your parents be worried?"

"Nicky's dad is going to tell them." Andie explains.

"They're not going to be happy." Leslie tells Andie.

Andie and Nicky look around. "This place is huge." Nicky comments.

"There are racquetball courts outside and a heated indoor pool." Leslie tells them.

"I could get used to living here." Nicky looks around.

"Don't get used to it, Nick. It's only for a few days." Leslie informs.

"Where do we sleep?" Nicky asks.

"The bedrooms are upstairs. You two will be sleeping in separate bedrooms as long as we're all under the same roof." Leslie tells them.

"That's fine." Andie shrugs and looks at Nicky.

One of the guards comes in. "I'm making a run into LA. Is there anything any of you need or forgot?"

They all think. Leslie answers first. "I need my allergy medicine. Bruce knows the one and if you can bring me my Nook Tablet. I might as well read while I'm here."

Suzanna answers next. "I need my math textbook and my history textbook. They're home on my desk."

"How about you sir?" The guard asks Nicky. Nicky thinks. "I need my guitar. It's by the couch in a case."

"Anything you need?" The guard looks at Andie.

"I need my seizure medication. You can ask my parents for it. Their names are Charlotte and Cooper Freedman. They live at…-"

"I'll get the info from Bruce. Is that all you need?"

"I need some more clothes and I guess you can bring my kindle. My momma knows where I keep everything." Andie tells the guard then turns to look out the window at the raquetball court. Andie thinks to herself. She also needs her birth control pill that she left at Nicky's cottage this morning. She doesn't want to say it in front of Nicky's mom. She thinks about it and decides she won't need it since they're sleeping in separate bedrooms. "That's all I need." Andie tells the guard.

"Okay." The guard tells them. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Is there another guard on duty?" Leslie asks.

"Yes ma'am." The guard leaves.

"Who wants to play racquetball?" Nicky asks.

"Me." They all answer.

"We'll do teams. Me and Andie against you two." Nicky tells his mother.

"Not fair." Suzanna complains. "Why do I get mom on my team?"

"I'll be on your mom's team. Me and your mom against you and Nicky." Andie tells Suzanna.

"This is gonna be fun."

* * *

><p>Cooper answers the door. "What can I do for you Bruce?"<p>

"I need to talk to you."

"Come inside." Cooper shows him in.

"This is important. You should get your wife."

"Charlotte! I need you in the living room!" Cooper shouts up the stairs.

Charlotte comes downstairs. "Are your pants on fire?"

"No." Cooper curls up his nose.

"Then don't shout for me like that."

"Bruce has something important to tell us."

Bruce starts. "As you know. I work undercover for the FBI."

"Yes. We know." Charlotte nods.

"We're closing in on an important case. There are some people who are not happy about it and have threatened my family."

"Okay?" Cooper wonders where this is going. He has a sinking feeling in his stomach it's not good.

"I had to put my family in hiding in an FBI safe house until the suspects are all arrested."

"How does this affect us?" Charlotte asks.

"Andie insisted on going to the safe house with Nicky. He wouldn't go without her and I didn't have time to debate with my son, so your daughter is there too."

"Oh God." Charlotte turns pale.

"It's called a safe house for a reason." Bruce tells Charlotte. "We have agents guarding the house. There's nothing to worry about."

"Can I talk to her?"

"No. We can't risk the call being traced. I assure you Andie is safe."

A guard knocks on the The Freedman's door. Cooper answers. The guard flashes his badge. "I'm here for Alexandria Freedman's seizure medication, her kindle and a change of clothes."

Charlotte gets up. "How much should I pack up? How long will she be there?"

"At least two days, one week the most." Bruce answers.

"I'll get her stuff and be right back." Charlotte walks up the stairs with her heart in her stomach. Cooper follows her. "Are you okay?" He rubs her back.

"No, Cooper. I don't like this."

"Andie's at a safe house, Chief. That means she's safe."

"Can you promise me that?"

"Char?" Cooper looks at her. Charlotte stares back at him with an anxious look in her eyes.

"Yes." Cooper answers. "I promise Andie will be safe in the safe house." Cooper tells Charlotte what he knows she needs to hear and then hugs her hoping he's right.


	78. Chapter 78

_**CHAPTER 78**_

* * *

><p>It's the morning of New Years Eve. Charlotte strolls into the kitchen. Cooper's already eating breakfast with the boys. "How are you?" He hands Charlotte a cup of coffee.<p>

"I miss my momma and my daughter." Charlotte sits at the kitchen table.

"Why couldn't grandma Augusta stay longer?" Noah asks.

"She has health issues." Charlotte answers. "She needed to get back for her doctors' appointments."

"She looked healthy to me." Chase looks up from the newspaper.

"She's old, Chase. They all have health issues at that age." Cooper tells him.

"Not all." Charlotte corrects. "She could have been healthy as a horse if she didn't abuse pills and alcohol most of her adult life." Charlotte makes sure Noah's listening. "That woman's like a cat. She's got nine lives." Charlotte quips.

"Huh?" Noah looks up from his breakfast plate.

Charlotte continues. "With all the alcohol and pills she's poured into her body, she should have been dead long ago."

"Really, Charlotte?" Cooper gets her to look him in the eye and then looks at the kids. "Let's talk outside." Cooper takes Charlotte by the arm and leads her out the back door.

"Let go of me." Charlotte quietly protests so as not to make a scene in front of the kids.

Once they're out the door, Cooper lets go of her arm and asks. "What are you thinking by talking about your mother like that in front of our children?"

"It's the truth." Charlotte snaps.

"Those children adore your mother. She's the only grandmother they have left."

"I want them to know what can happen if they abuse their bodies."

"Charlotte, your mother is not the example. She's already lived up to a ripe old age of seventy seven and she's probably got a few more good years to go."

Charlotte gets teary and sighs. "I know. I know. I'm stressed, Coop. I'm worried sick about Andie and my momma just picks up and leaves for a flight home to go to a doctor's appointment."

"So, you're upset that your mother didn't stay with you until Andie came home safe?"

Charlotte nods. "I'm worried about Andie. I need my momma. I thought she changed but she's still the same, Cooper. She's never been around for me when I need her the most. Whenever I need her she runs or does pills. Why can't she just be there for me for once?"

"Charlotte your mother came right away when you were in the coma." Cooper reminds his wife. "She came to visit us when each of the kids were born. Your mother has been there for you. What's this really about."

Charlotte sniffles her nose and tries to hold back some tears. "Momma's getting older and she does have health issues. I don't know if I'll ever get to see her again. Why couldn't she just stay a little longer until Andie got back?"

"I don't know." Cooper responds.

"I just wish she could have stayed here and distracted me until Andie came home." A tear manages to escape and leak down Charlotte's cheek.

Cooper hugs Charlotte. "Shh…Shhh!" He comforts her. "I'm here. I'll always be here." Charlotte leans her head against Cooper's chest and lets the tears fall. "I miss Andie. I miss my Sweet Pea. I want her home safe."

"Me too." Cooper says softly. "Me too." He holds Charlotte in his arms.

* * *

><p>Bruce knocks on the door of the safe house. Leslie answers. "Good news!" Bruce announces. "We caught the bad guys. You're free to go."<p>

"Really, Papa?" Suzanna asks.

"Really!"

"Let's pack up our stuff." Leslie tells Suzana.

"You're sure all the bad guys are caught?" Nicky asks.

"I wouldn't let my family leave the safe house if I wasn't sure, Nick."

"Cool, Papa." Nicky high fives his father. Andie and Nicky walk upstairs to pack.

Andie tells Nicky. "I wouldn't mind staying here another day. This place is awesome with the pool and racquetball court."

"It would be fun to spend New Years Eve here." Nicky agrees.

"Yeah and with your mother and sister gone we can finally spend the night in the same room."

Nicky laughs, smacking Andie on the butt. "You're a bad, bad girl."

"I know." Andie laughs.

Bruce calls up the stairs to Nicky and Andie. "Hurry up you two! Your mother and sister are waiting in the car. They're anxious to get home."

Nicky and Andie walk down the steps together. "Hey papa! I have a question."

"What is it, Nick?"

"Would it be okay for Andie and I to stay here for one more night, for New Years Eve?"

Bruce thinks, then answers. "I don't see why not, the house will be empty anyway. I could pick you up tomorrow."

"Awesome." Nicky high fives Andie.

"Here's your phones." Bruce hands them back their mobile phones. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning." Bruce closes the door.

Nicky laughs. "My mother's going to rip my dad a new asshole when my father tells her he gave us permission to stay here another night, alone."

Andie laughs.

"You should call your parents now." Nicky tells her. "They're probably worried."

Andie presses the buttons for her momma. Charlotte answers. "Momma, it's Andie."

"Oh my Lord! Are you okay?"

"I'm great momma. You should see this place. It's huge. It has an indoor heated pool and a racquetball court. There must be about three or four fireplaces."

Charlotte lets out a sigh of relief before smiling. "Fancy that, I was worried sick about you and you're living better than me."

Andie laughs.

"I miss you." Charlotte tells her. "When are you coming home?"

"Technically, we're free to come home now. Leslie and Suzanna are on their way home already."

Charlotte sighs. "I hear a 'but' coming."

"You know me so well, momma."

"Spit it out, Sweet Pea."

"Nicky and I figured this would be a cool place to spend New Years Eve."

"Alexandria Georgia Freedman." Charlotte shoots.

"C'mom, momma." Andie pleads. "Please let me stay here tonight. I'll do anything you want when I come home. I'll mop the floors for a month."

Charlotte relaxes. She knows Andie's not going to do anything she hasn't already done. "Alright, but I'm holdin' you to moppin' the floors for a month."

"I love you, momma." Andie smiles.

"Love you too, baby girl. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya tomorrow, momma."

After they hang up, Charlotte walks into the kitchen. "So, why aren't you getting ready?" She asks Cooper.

"Ready for what?"

"For Addison's New Years Eve party tonight. What else?"

"I thought you didn't want to go until Andie was home safe?" Cooper asks.

"Andie won't be home tonight but she's safe." Charlotte casually tells Cooper. "She's coming home tomorrow."

Cooper grins. "Did you hear something?"

"She just called." Charlotte grins. "She's having the time of her life at this safe house, says it's huge with indoor pools and racquetball courts. They're free to go but she wants to stay there one more night with Nicky."

"And we're letting her?" Cooper furrows his brow.

"She ain't doin' nothin' there that she wouldn't be doin' with him at his cottage. Let's go to Addison's and have some fun for ourselves tonight." Charlott nuzzles up to Cooper.

"I'm there." He pulls Charlotte tight. "This is going to be a great New Year."

"It is now." Charlotte hugs Cooper. "It is now."

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	79. Chapter 79

_**CHAPTER 79 NEW YEARS EVE**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte's wearing a little black dress with the new diamond necklace and matching earrings Cooper gave her for Christmas. Cooper's wearing a light blue dress shirt and jacket. Sam greets them at the door, extending his hand. "So, happy you two could make it after all."<p>

"The place looks great." Cooper tells Sam.

"Help yourself to some food and drink." Sam leads them in to the party. Right away Charlotte notices Archer sitting on the couch. He gives her a smirk and wave.

"Don't let him get to you." Cooper whispers.

"As long as Andie's safe, nothing's going to get to me tonight. Let Archer make his lewd remarks." Charlotte shrugs.

"Good girl." Cooper pats Charlotte on the shoulder.

Violet gives both Charlotte and Cooper a hug. "Glad you guys could make it. Addison said you might not come."

"We had a family thing, but it's resolved now." Cooper tells her.

"Where's Pete?" Charlotte asks.

"The bar would be my best guess." Violet shakes her head.

"You guys okay?" Cooper asks.

"Just Pete being Pete." Violet blows it off. "You know how he gets in these moods for weeks and then he's fine again."

"What's he in a mood about now?" Cooper asks.

"Lila. Pete blames me for Lila's eating disorder."

"That's ridiculous." Charlotte pours herself a glass of wine.

"Whenever there's a problem, the mother is the first to blame." Cooper snaps a a piece of shrimp wrapped in bacon off the tray.

Charlotte slaps his hand and takes it away form him. "You can't eat shrimp and bacon." She pops the appetizer into her mouth.

Cooper pouts. "You get to have all the fun."

"Back to me." Violet tells them. "We weren't done."

"What were we saying?" Cooper looks at Violet with innocent eyes.

Violet huffs. "We were talking about how Pete blames me for Lila's eating disorder."

"Oh right." Cooper nods. "I said the mother is always to blame."

"Ain't that the truth." Charlotte pulls another apetizer off a passing tray. "Can't wait to see what the kids are going to blame me for when they're grown."

"Paybacks." Cooper grins at Charlotte. "You blamed all your problems on your momma and your childhood."

Charlotte nudges Cooper in the arm. "You didn't need to announce it."

"Ahem." Violet loudly clears her throat and announces again. "Back to me. This discussion is supposed to be about me and my problem."

Cooper shrugs."It is about you." He tells Violet. "I'm just saying people tend to blame mother's for all their problems. That's why Pete's blaming you."

"What about the fathers, like Pete. Why can't you say Lila's eating disorder is his fault?" Violet asks.

Cooper chuckles. "Don't you know everyone loves dads? Dads are fun." Cooper snatches a stuffed mushroom off a passing tray. He pops it into his mouth before Charlotte has a chance to take it away. "Everyone loves dads." Cooper announces with his mouth full. He continues to chew while telling them. "Nobody ever blames the dads. We're fun."

Charlotte quips. "More like grown up children. Chew with your mouth closed."

Cooper continues talking. "What? I had to swallow it before you snatched it."

Violet gives Cooper a disgusted look and then laughs at him. Charlotte rolls her eyes.

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky finish up a game of raquetball before going inside to celebrate New Years Eve. "I need a shower," Andie tells Nicky, wiping her sweaty brow with a towel.<p>

"That works out." Nicky tells Andie. "I need a shower too." Nicky pulls off his sweat stained t-shirt.

"I'll use the upstairs bathroom. You can use the downstairs bathroom." Andie throws the towel on a table.

Nicky moves in closer. "Why waste water? We can take one together." He grins.

Andie laughs him off. "No. I need a proper shower. I'm sweaty and smelly. If I end up in the shower with you, I'll get anything but clean."

Nicky agrees. "Okay, take your shower upstairs, but make it quick. We only have an hour unitl midnight and I want to bang it in, in style with you."

Andie smiles before heading to the upstairs bathroom. She hasn't taken the pill since they've been at the safe house and knows it would be a bad idea to take a shower with Nicky figuring how it would end up.

After her shower. Andie comes out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. Nicky's already waiting on the bed for her. "Come over here." Nicky pats a spot on the bed.

"Let me put something on first. I'm only wearin' a towel."

"You look amazing in that towel." He winks at her. "I found some champagne and some crackers in the kitchen." Nicky pours them each a glass.

She can't resist his wink so she sits next to him on the bed. One glass of champagne can't hurt.

"We have to wait until midnight to drink it." Andie tells him.

"No way." Nicky answers. "We have to drink it now. I want to bang in the New Year with you" He kisses her neck.

Andie takes the champagne and sips it. "How should we to bang in the New Year? We don't have any noisemakers or confetti."

"We can make our own noise." Nicky winks.

Andie sighs. There he goes winking again. He moves in to kiss her and she can't resist. They haven't been alone in weeks, since before he was admitted to the hospital. Of all times to be off the pill. He lets his hand roam over the terry cloth of the towel. She swallows while she struggles with her decision. Does she does she stop it before it gets too far or does she take the risk?

Nicky breaks the kiss and picks up his champagne glass again. "Here's to the best New Years Eve ever."

Andie picks up her glass, clinking it with Nicky's. "Here's to the best New Year ever."

Nicky leans back resting up against the headboard of the bed. "We have a fifteen minutes before midnight. We should wait or we'll end up banging it in prematurely."

"Right." Andie sits back sipping her champagne. She debates telling Nicky she hasn't taken the pill in days.

Nicky takes another sip of champagne. "Did I tell you I'm going to look into registering for some classes at UCLA when we get back to LA?"

"What about your band?"

"I'm not quitting the band." Nicky tells her. "But I want something to fall back on. just in case."

"What brought this on?" Andie asks.

"Your dad got me thinking about doing things now so you don't have regrets later. I should be in college" Nicky pours them each another glass of champagne.

"Yeah, my dad gives good advice sometimes. I really like the drama club."

"Good." Nicky kisses Andie. "It's going to be a great year." Nicky pulls off his t-shirt now.

"It will be." Andie rubs his chest with the palm of one hand while drinking down the champagne with the other hand. "Christmas was awesome with both our families. I think they're getting used to the idea."

Nicky wraps his arm around Andie's shoulder. "With me going back to school and playing with the band, it'll give you more time to do your high school stuff."

Andie drinks more champagne. "My dad will be happy, but promise me you'll make time for us. I don't want to drift apart because you're too busy."

"Never, Belle, I'll always make time for you." Nicky loosens up Andie's towel.

"Hey! It's not midnight yet." She slaps his hand away with a smile.

"It's getting closer." He tells her as he kisses down her neck. She runs her fingers up and down his back and thinks about putting a stop to it now. He leaves a trail of kisses down her body. _It won't be such a great year if she starts it out by getting pregnant,_ she worries to herself, but she doesn't want to ruin the moment and disappoint him. Hell, who's she kidding, she doesn't want to disappoint herself. They've been forced to sleep in separate rooms for the last several nights by his mother, and she's horny, very horny tonight for some reason, maybe because it's New Years or maybe it's because she's in heat. She thinks to herself... _Female dogs are at their horniest while they're in heat. Maybe I'm in heat because I'm off the pill,_ she wonders. Nicky's got one thumb making swirls on her nipple now while his lips are leaving a trail of kisses up behind her ear. His other hand trails down past her belly button. If she's going to stop this she better do it now, she thinks.

"Not much longer, Belle." He blows into her ear. She listens to the countdown on the television.

"Three more minutes until midnight." Ryan Seabreeze announces on the television.

"Good." Andie sighs. She has three more minutes before she has to put a stop to this.

Nicky presses his lips into hers. Their tongues dance hungrily.

"Two more minutes." Ryan Seabreeze announces on TV.

Andie feels Nicky slide inside her. "Wait. What are you doing?" She whispers to him. "It's not midnight yet."

"We have to be ready, in position, before midnight." He whispers to her. He slides his tongue behind her ear and blows.

She sighs. Her decision has been made for her. It would be cruel to tell him to stop now, he's already inside her. She relaxes, giving in to the pleasure. She lets her back melt into the sheets as her thighs relax. Her body thrumbs in pleasure as she glides her hips with his. He looks in her eyes as he glides in and out of her. "Ready?"

"Aha." she breathes out."

"The people on television count the seconds downs "5! 4! 3!"

"Now, Belle, now!" Nicky urges. Her body surrenders to the waves that are happening inside her. He groans at the same time. "Happy New Year." She feels his hot fluids shoot inside, filling her up with warmth. He falls down on top of her. "That was the best New Years ever."

"It was." Andie agrees. "It was amazing."

"We were in perfect synch." Nicky kisses her lips softly. "Doesn't get any better than that."

"Aha." Andie rubs her hand over his head.

Nicky tells Andie before he rolls over next to her. "Thanks for making this the most amazing New Years Eve."

Andie smiles. "Right back at you."

Nicky grabs a cigarette and watches a new band playing on the TV. Andie lies next to him with her head on his chest.

She wonders to herself. _Should I tell him that I missed the pill for a few days? I don't want to ruin this moment with worry. What are the chances anyway? One time without protection? It's probably miniscule. Plenty of women do it without protection and don't get pregnant._ She decides to dismiss the thoughts from her mind. She tries to sleep while Nicky watches the new upcoming bands perform on television.

"Good night." She whispers to Nicky. "I love you."

"I love you too, Belle." He gives her a sweet kiss on the top of her head. "We're going to have a great year."

* * *

><p><em><strong>HAPPY NEW YEAR<strong>_


	80. Chapter 80

_**CHAPTER 80**_

* * *

><p>Bruce drops Andie off at her front door. Before she's all the way in the house. Charlotte grabs her in for a hug. "Thank God, you're alright."<p>

Andie breaks the hug. "Momma, if you only knew. It was like being on vacation. This house was amazing."

Cooper takes his turn to hug Andie. "I'm glad you're okay, kid. Your mother and I were worried."

"Stop worrying about me. I was having the time of my life, swimming in the heated pool, playing racquetball. It was great."

"Glad to hear." Charlotte teases her daughter sarcastically. "You had the time of your life while your father and I were forming ulcers." Charlotte stops a second to stare at Andie. Andie notices. "Why are you staring at me momma? Do I look funny?"

"You look beautiful."

"I look the same. I didn't get a haircut or a new outfit."

Charlotte laughs. "I just missed you. I can stare at my baby girl if I want." Charlotte teases.

"I'm not your baby girl anymore, momma. I'm seventeen."

"You'll still be my baby girl when you're fifty years old." Charlotte hugs Andie.

"Ughhhh!" Andie sighs, breaking the hug.

Charlotte's not offended. She knows Andie's attitude is part of being a teenager but she also worries that it could be inherited. She had a hard time, herself, showing affection until she met Cooper. He sort of forced it out of her. She's made it a priority over the years to be affectionate with her children so they wouldn't have the same issues she had. It's become easier for her to express affection over the years, especially with her children, but right now Andie reminds her of herself when she was younger. She hugs Andie again despite Andie's protests.

"Please momma, I want to go take a shower." Andie pulls away from her momma. "I'm fine, momma. You don't need to keep hugging me."

Cooper pats Andie on the back. "You're all ours for the rest of the day. You've been with Nicky all week. Now, it's our turn. Change your clothes. We're taking you out to lunch, just the three of us."

Andie goes up to her room to change clothes. There's a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"Danielle."

"Come on in."

"Sorry, I missed your mom's New Years Eve party." Andie apologizes.

"Where were you?"

"With Nicky." Andie smiles.

"But where?"

"I'm not allowed to say. His dad is FBI and he took us somewhere. I'm not allowed to talk about where."

"That's really wierd."

"Was the party fun? Did I miss much?" Andie asks.

"It was okay, nothing too exciting. How about you? Did you have fun with Nicky where ever you were?"

Andie spins around on her heel to face Danielle. "Of course, but I did something I'm a little worried about."

"What'd you do now?" Danielle sits on Andie's bed.

"I had sex with Nicky and I haven't taken the pill in four days. Is that really bad or just slightly bad?"

"Uh...Really bad..Why would you stop taking the pill for four days and then have sex?"

"We had to leave in a rush to go to the FBI safe house. I left it at home so I couldn't take it."

"But you still had sex?"

"It was New Years Eve." Andie shrugs, turning up her lip while explaining to her best friend. "I was really horny and I didn't want to disappoint Nicky."

"What does Nicky think about it?"

"He doesn't know. I never told him I left the pill home. We had to sleep in separate rooms while we were there cuz of his mother."

"Nicky's mother was there?" Danielle raises her eyebrows.

"She was there for the first three days that's why we had to sleep in separate rooms but she left the morning of New Years Eve and we were alone.'

"And you had sex."

"Of course. It was New Years and we were alone. Didn't you and Lucas bang in the New Year together?"

"We did but I'm on the pill." Danielle looks at her friend with big eyes.

"I didn't have my pill with me or I would have taken it."

"You're playing with fire, Andie."

"So, if you were me, you wouldn't have had sex even though it was New Years and you were all alone in this big house with Lucas?"

"I admit it would be tempting." Danielle agrees. "But the fear of getting pregnant would be enough to squash my temptation."

Andie shrugs. "I didn't plan to go all the way with him New Years Eve. I figured we'd just full around and I'd stop it before we went all the way."

"But you didn't stop. You went all the way."

"Yep." Andie nods, looking down at the sheets.

"Why?"

"I figured there's only a slim chance I could get pregnant from one night of sex without the pill."

"Well, hopefully you didn't get pregnant."

"Tell me about it."

"Are you going to tell Nicky you missed the pill for four days?"

"Nope, I don't want him to worry about it."

"I guess." Danielle sits next to Andie on the bed. "Then you shouldn't worry about it either."

"Hopefully, I'll get my period next week and that will be that."

"Would Nicky be mad if he knew you were off the pill and had sex with him anyway?"

"He wouldn't be happy about it, that's for sure."

"Well, if it was just one time." Danielle pushes a strand of red hair behind Andie's ear. "I wouldn't worry about it." Danielle tells her friend.

"Yeah." Andie nods. "It's a slim chance, right?"

Danielle rubs Andie's back now. "There's something called the morning after pill. They give it to rape victims. If you're that worried you should look into taking it."

"Would they give it to me?" Andie asks. "I wasn't raped."

"They probably would still give it to you but since you're a minor they'd have to get your parents consent."

"Shit!" Andie exclaims. "My parents can't find out about this." Andie's raspy voice resonates of fear and desperation. "I can't be pregnant." Her eyes fill up with tears.

Danielle hugs Andie. "You're probably worrying about nothing anyway. My mother always says to wait and cross that bridge when you come to it." Danielle smooths down Andie's long red hair. "Don't worry about something that may never happen."

Andie wipes her eyes before taking a deep breath. "You're right. Sorry, I'm acting like such a dork." Andie rises to her feet. "It's all I've been able to think about since I woke up. I'm not going to think about it anymore. I'm gonna push those thoughts out of my mind. Enough about me. Let's talk about you. How's Lucas?"

"Lucas is good. I actually came over here to say goodbye to you. I'm leaving for Yale with Lucas tomorrow. My mom and Sam are flying out with us to help me settle in."

"That's awesome for you." Andie says. Her raspy voice is sad.

"But?" Danielle asks.

"But, I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"Then text me like crazy. I want to know everything that goes on with you."

"Okay." Andie hugs Danielle.

"My mom says that if I do well at Yale this semester she'll send me to Europe this summer."

"I wish I could go with you." Andie sulks.

"Ask your parents if you can come with me. It'll keep you away from Nicky for the summer. They'll be happy about that."

"If I put it that way they just might let me go." Andie and Danielle share a laugh.

* * *

><p>Cooper answers the doorbell. "Hello Marley. How was your trip to Florida?"<p>

"Great! We went to Universal Studios. " Marley answers. "Where's Noah? I brought him a wand from Ollivanders Wand Shop."

"He's in the family room with Suzanna. He'll love that wand." Cooper checks it out.

Marley strolls into the family room. She hands Noah the box with the wand. "Hey Noah."

Noah gets up. You're back, Mars Bars!"

"Obviously, I surprised you." Marley glares at Suzanna.

"Suzie and I were playing this new video game I got for Christmas."

Suzie picks up that Marley isn't too thrilled that she's there. "I just remembered my mother told me to come home for lunch." Suzanna puts the video game remote down and walks out the back door. "Bye, Noah."

"Do you have a problem with Suzanna?" Noah asks. "She's really nice. You should get to know her better."

"I've been gone a week. I thought you would miss me as much as I missed you but instead I walk in here and you're all happy playing video games with another girl."

Noah looks up at Marley. "She's not another girl. Suzie's my cousin. You can't be jealous that I'm playing video games with my cousin."

"Why not?" Marley questions. "Look at your sister and Nicky. They're cousins."

"It's not the same thing." Noah sort of chuckles at Marley. "I know Suzie's my cousin. I promise you I have no interest in Suzie."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I don't look at Suzie in any other way except that she's my cousin."

Marley sits down next to Noah. "Good. I'm glad you don't take after your sister like that."

Noah sighs. "In all fairness to Andie and Nicky, they didn't know they were cousins when they fell in love. I can understand it."

"You can?"

"Think about it. If we found out we were cousins tomorrow, would you be able to stop thinking about me as your boyfriend and think of me as your cousin?"

Marley takes a few minutes to think about it before answering. "I guess you're right because I could never think of you as my cousin."

"We don't have sex." Noah tells Marley. "Sex makes makes you closer. They already had sex when they found out."

"Was it Andie's first time?" Marley asks.

"Yep. I heard my momma and Andie arguing about it after my momma found out Leslie was my dad's sister. Andie was devastated. She accused my momma of making it up."

"Poor Andie. I feel kind of bad for her now." Marley shakes her head. "That's gotta suck to be in love with someone and find out he's your cousin. I mean what are the chances?"

"Just a bad stroke of luck." Noah shrugs and turns his video game back on.

"Still, I feel bad for them because people are mean and going to them grief for still dating."

"Don't feel bad. My sister's tough as nails like my momma and I think Nicky is too. He put his guy in the hospital for bullying Andie about it."

"That's both hot and romantic." Marley smiles.

"Kicking the crap out of someone is hot and romantic to you?" Noah hands Marley a Will remote.

"I think so. Here, I brought you this." Marley hands him the wand.

Noah puts his Wii remote down. "Awesome. It's Ron's wand." Noah swings the wand around.

"Yeah." Marley nods. "I kept Harry's wand for myself. Of course my brother Cole got picked by the wizard to be the one to get the free wand."

"Sounds like you had fun."

"Next time we have to go together. It was awesome. Have a jelly bean." Marley holds out the little box.

Noah takes a jelly bean. "Gross! What is this?"

Marley laughs. "You got earthworm flavor. Try this one it's earwax."

"No thanks." Noah looks through the box for a fruity flavor while Marley watches.

Noah chews. "I think I just got soap flavor."

Marley giggles. "At least I didn't give you rotten egg or buggar flavor. Here's blueberry"

Noah pops the jelly bean into his mouth before getting an idea. "Let's call Drew. Drew!"

"That's so mean." Marley laughs.

Drew comes running in the room. "What?"

"Here. Have some jelly beans." Noah holds them out.

Drew takes one. "Tastes like bubble gum."

Noah pouts. "Try another."

Drew takes another. "Yum. Banana."

"Why's he getting all the good ones?" Noah asks.

"Try this one." Marley hands a jelly bean to Drew. Drew tastes it and spits it out. "YUCK!"

Marley laughs. "You got rotten egg flavor."

"Good one, Mars Bars!" Noah laughs at his little brother who's still spitting.

"I'm telling!"Drew yells. "Momma! Momma!"

Charlotte comes in. "What's going on?"

Noah answers first. "Here momma. Have a jelly bean." Noah hands her one.

"What is this?" Charlotte scowls after tasting the jelly bean.

"You got bugger flavor, Dr. King." Marley and Noah laugh.

"Give me those." Charlotte takes the box away.

"What are you going to do with those, momma?" Noah asks.

Charlotte smirks. "Feed them to your father and Andie, of course. Come on Drew. It's time to go to lunch with Dad and Andie."

"Bye. Dr. King. Have fun." Marley calls out. "I wish I could see your dad and Andie's faces when they taste them thinking they're getting a sweet treat." Marley giggles.

Noah swings his new wand around. "Stop laughing. I command you to kiss me."

Marley looks Noah in the eyes before kissing him on the lips.

Noah breaks the kiss. "See, it works." Noah teases.

"That's cuz it's magic." Marley smiles.

Andie comes down the steps wearing a clingy black dress. "I'm ready, momma."

"Have a jelly bean, Andie." Drew's voice is enthusiastic.

Andie looks at the box. "You can't fool me. kiddo. I know what those are. Did marley bring those back from Islands of Adventure?"

"Yes but don't tell dad." Drew's excited.

"Give him the vomit flavor." Andie tells Drew.

Cooper comes down the stairs. "I'm ready." Cooper grabs a jelly bean out of the box Charlotte's holding. Cooper chews while they all watch him. "Why does this jelly bean taste like sausage?" He asks Charlotte.

"Ha, ha." Andie and Drew both laugh. "Got ya! Didn't you ever read Harry Potter, dad?"

"The jelly beans come in all kinds of flavors including grass and vomit." Charlotte smirks.

Cooper nods, reaching for another jelly bean. "I like the sausage flavor. I can't eat sausage anymore but at least I can enjoy it in a jelly bean. Give me another one." Cooper pops another one in his mouth. "I got cinnamon this time. How boring?"

"Aw! You're no fun, dad." Andie complains. "You actually like the weird flavors."

Cooper grabs for more jelly beans. Drew grabs onto Cooper's other hand and holds it as they walk out the door.

"Why is the minion coming out to lunch with us?" Andie asks her momma. "I thought it was supposed to be just the three of us?"

Charlotte answers. "Chase went out with Tess and Noah's hanging out with Marley today."

"So, we get the minion."

"We get the minion." Charlotte nods with a smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Andie asks Charlotte.

Charlotte shrugs. "This year is off to a good start already." Charlotte watches Cooper and Drew walk to the car sharing the jelly beans. "I think 2012 is going to be a good year for the Freedman's."

"Hope so." Andie crosses her fingers, hoping she doesn't start out the new year pregnant. Charlotte and Andie walk to the car together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and don't forget to REVIEW!<strong>_


	81. Chapter 81

_**CHAPTER 81**_

* * *

><p>It's a rainy Saturday morning. The wind's howling outside the bedroom window. Cooper opens his eyes first. He watches the rain pound against the window. After about thirty seconds he turns over to look at Charlotte. She looks so peaceful, asleep. Her head's resting on the pillow with the blanket pulled all the way up to her chin on this chilly, rainy morning. He hates to wake her but at the same time he's aching to kiss her lips. He thinks about the prince kissing Sleeping Beauty. He shakes his head and laughs at himself. The perks of being a pediatrician and raising four kids. He's got this beautiful woman to wake up with and he's thinking about fairy tales. He swallows and bucks up into adult mode. He watches her breathe and his desire grows. He's really aching to kiss her now. Let her sleep or kiss her? He deliberates a few seconds and before he knows it he's going for the kiss. After the second soft kiss to her lips she opens her eyes. "What time is it?" She clears her throat and asks him.<p>

He looks at the clock. "Ten thirty in the morning."

Her body suddenly jolts up to a sitting position. "Ten in the morning?"

"Relax, Chief, it's Saturday. We're off this weekend." He raises his eyebrows up and down at her. "It's a rainy day; a perfect day to sleep in if you know what I'm saying.""

She looks out the window at the pounding rain. "The kids are gonna raise the roof any minute now, if we don't get down there and make them breakfast."

Cooper gently presses Charlotte's shoulders back down into the mattress. "Andie's seventeen, Chase is sixteen. They're capable of making breakfast." He kisses her lips.

Charlotte breaks the kiss a few seconds to ask. "Did you lock the door?"

"Already done." He kisses her again. She wraps her arms around him and eagerly returns the kiss.

It doesn't take them long to get there on this rainy morning. After they're both satisfied, they lie together, his body's still pressing into hers. She gently pushes up on his shoulders. "Can you please get off me, Coop?"

He pops his head up to look at her. He clearly wasn't expecting her to say that. He's accustomed to snuggling with her for a few minutes afterwards. She can tell by the way his smile turns upside down that she offended him. "I'm sorry, Coop. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you're squishing me. My back hurts." She grimaces

"Sorry." Cooper rolls off of her. "Turn over," he tells her.

"Why?" She runs her hand through her messy hair. "What are you gonna do to me now?"

"Just roll over." Cooper tells her. "I promise you'll like it."

She rolls onto her belly for him. "I better."

Cooper examines her back with his fingers. He gently runs his fingers along her spine.

Charlotte turns her head to the side to talk to him. "What are you doing?"

"I want to check out why your back hurts."

"It's just old age, Coop."

"Oh stop. You're not that _old_." Cooper runs his hand gently over her back. "And _I'm_ not that _heavy_. Your back shouldn't hurt after sex."

"It's not from the sex or you. My back's been bothering me all week." She sighs, lying her head back down on the pillow.

"You're tense." Cooper kneads his knuckles into her back muscles.

"Mmmmm." She purrs. "Keep doin' that."

"Good. Just relax." He kneads his fingers into her shoulders now.

"Don't ever stop, Coop. I'm in heaven."

"You have a huge knot in your shoulder. Tell me what's wrong."

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

"I know you, Chief. When you're stressed, you knot up."

Charlotte shuts her eyes and breathes while Cooper takes turns kneading his knuckle and then his fingers into the knot. God, that does feel great. She purrs again. "Mmmm."

"Talk to me, Chief."

"Do you really wanna' get me started?" She sighs. "You may be sorry you asked."

He thinks it over a minute. Does he want to know? Yes, well maybe, yes, yes, he does want to know. "Tell me." He finally answers.

She sighs and lifts her head up while she speaks. "For starters, I'm worried about momma. She's getting older, got some health issues and she's too far away for me to keep an eye on her. Then, there's Andie. She's been real quiet and accommodating lately, she' hasn't givin' me any sass since the new year started."

"That's not like Andie." Cooper shrugs. "Maybe it was her New Years resolution not to sass us."

"How long do you think that resolution will last?" Charlotte says, joking.

"With any luck, the whole year." Cooper chuckles. "But I doubt she can go a month without giving us any sarcastic back talk."

"Mmm hmm." Charlotte puts her head back down. "Something's up with that girl. I know my daughter. This girl living in our house now is an imposter."

Cooper laughs. "Well, I like the imposter. She's sweet and helpful and..."

Charlotte finishes "And not our Andie. Somethings up."

"I'll try to talk to her." Cooper continues to knead Charlotte's shoulders. "I'll get her to talk about whatever's bothering her."

"I don't know, Coop. Andie's a lot like me when I was her age. She's not much of a talker."

"It's probably got something to do with Nicky." Cooper suggests.

"You're probably right." Charlotte agrees befores shifting her head to the other side. "And for the icing on top of the cake Drew's teacher called me. She wants us to have him evaluated for ADHD."

Cooper sighs. He continues to massage her back. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I don't need your blood pressure to go through the roof on top of everything else and…-." She decides not to finish her sentence.

Cooper knows what she was going to say. She's afraid he's going to have another heart attack and die on her one day. "Thank you for telling me." He continues. "I'm not made of glass, Char. I'm your husband; you need to tell me this stuff so we can fix these things together. We're married; we're a team. You don't have to take it all on alone."

"Thank you." Charlotte closes her eyes and lets him massage her knots out.

* * *

><p>For the past week, Andie has poured every last bit of strength into pretending she's fine. Right as rain, she tells herself because she needs to think that. Andie's eyes pop open when she opens her front door to find Nicky standing in front of her. Truth be told, she's been trying her best to avoid him this past week.<p>

"Hey Belle." He kisses her cheek. "Did you eat yet?"

"No."

"Good. Because I'm taking you out to Giorgio's brunch buffet." He holds up a gift card. "They gave each one of the band members a five hundred dollar gift card for Christmas."

"That was nice of them." Andie forces a sunny bright smile. A feeling of uneasiness settles in the pit of her stomach. The thought of food at this very moment makes her want to toss her cookies. "Let me grab my jacket." She says.

The thought of being taken out to a big brunch makes her belch. "Excuse me." She covers her mouth, clearly embarrassed. She's never done that before in front of Nicky. First time for everything, she thinks.

Nicky chuckles. "Your face is redder than a lobster."

"I just burped in front of you." She feels her cheeks, yep, he's right, not only are they red, but hot.

"Newsflash, humans burp." He smiles. "You should hear me and the guys after a few beers and chili dawgs." He holds the car door open for her.

"No thanks." Andie doesn't want to think about chili dawgs and burps. The thought makes her stomach churn.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper come downstairs, still wearing their robes. Drew's on the couch watching cartoons. "Did you have breakfast?" Cooper asks him.<p>

"I made myself some frosted flakes and milk."

"Where's Andie?" Charlotte asks.

"She went out with Nicky." Drew answers, still looking at his Saturday morning shows.

"Where's Chase and Noah?'

"Noah's still sleeping and Chase went to Tess's house for breakfast."

"So, you were on your own for breakfast?" Charlotte asks.

Cooper nudges her elbow. "He's fine, Charlotte, he fixed himself some cereal."

"I know." Charlotte sighs, trying to hide her guilt for enjoying a quickie and massage with Cooper while Drew was left to fend for himself.

"You wouldn't be a good momma if you didn't feel guilty." Cooper jokes. "C'mon, let's see how big a mess he left for us in the kitchen."

* * *

><p>Andie browses the breakfast buffet. She decides to stay away from all sections containing eggs and seafood. The smell is just too much. She sticks to the blueberry pancakes. She carries her plate to the table and sits next to Nicky. Nicky looks at her plate. "That's all your going to eat? One blueberry pancake?"<p>

Andie nods and takes a glance at Nicky's plate. She can smell the seafood kiche. She immediately looks away from it. She feels the warm liquid moving up her throat. She tries to swallow it back down but it seems to just make it worse. She puts her hand over her mouth and makes a mad dash to the bathroom. She barely makes it and actually misses the stall. At least she manages to barf on the bathroom floor and not in the dining area. A woman in the bathroom wets a bunch of paper towels and hands them to her. Andie wipes her hands and face before rinsing out her mouth in the sink. She feels a little better now. She fixes her makeup before walking out of the bathroom. Nicky's outside waiting.

"Are you okay? Did you just throw up in there?'

"I must of caught the flu from Drew. He was barfing one night when I was babysitting. I probably caught it then." Andie wants to believe it's true but the night she babysat Drew was almost a month ago, it wouldn't take that long for her to catch it. "I'm sorry." She apologizes.

"Don't be sorry. I'll drive you home."

"I'm such a dork. I wasted your money and you didn't even get a chance to eat."

"It's okay. I know the staff here. They didn't charge me for the breakfast." Nicky escorts Andie back out to the car.

On the way home, Andie thinks about telling Nicky she might be pregnant. She's working up the nerve when Nicky tells her. "I registered at UCLA. I start taking classes next week."

"That's awesome." Andie nods.

"Yeah. I figured it's a new year. I set some new goals for myself."

"What are they?" Andie asks.

"I wanna try and get publicity for the band, see if we could open for a bigger band."

"That'd be awesome." Andie nods.

"Yeah and I want to get a degree in business to fall back on just in case."

"That's great. If I apply to UCLA for next fall we could go there together."

"I thought about that too. We could hang out at UCLA in the day and study at my cottage at night."

"You'll be sick of looking at my face." Andie jokes.

"I'll never be sick of looking at you, Belle."

"Maybe we could take some classes together." Andie suggests.

Nicky tells her. "I signed up for some music theory classes and a business classe besides the required stuff."

"I'm going to major in science but I wouldn't mind taking a music theory class for an elective."

Nicky adds. "Plus, we could take philosophy together if you want."

"I want." Andie grabs his hand. "I can't wait until the fall. We're going to have so much fun at UCLA together." She relaxes and forgets about her troubles now. "I'm hungry now." She tells Nicky.

"You're kidding me?"

"No. I'm hungry. Let's go back to Giorgio's."

"But you just barfed."

"I feel better now. I'm starving."

"That's the quickest case of the flu I ever saw." Nicky turns the car around.

"Ha, ha." Andie laughs. "I woke up feeling crappy but now it's gone. I could eat a walrus."

"See, fifteen minutes with Nicky Poulos will cure whatever's ailing you." Nicky jokes.

"Works for me, everytime." Andie chuckles "Just don't get the seafood kiche again."

"Okay, no kiche." Nicky drives back to Giorgio's. Andie gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I can't wait to go to UCLA with you. My dad can't get mad about us hanging out so long since we'll bith be going to college there."

"Yep. The future is looking good."

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess finish breakfast. "So, what is your New Years resolution?" Tess asks.<p>

"To spend more time with you."

"Good answer." Tess answers.

"What do you want to do today?" Tess clears the breakfast dishes.

"It's Tess day. You decide."

"Let's go for a ride and just get out of LA for the day."

"Where should we go?" Chase puts down the paper and asks.

"I don't care. I just want to get in the car and drive away with you, just the two of us."

"It's always just the two of us." Chase tells her.

"No, it's not. Your family is always around and that stupid Haili girl."

"Ha, ha." Chase chuckles. "It's cute that you're jealous of Haili but you don't need to be."

"I'm not jealous." Tess grabs her car keys.

Chase follows her out the door, smirking. "Whatever you say. Whatever you say."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review!<strong>_


	82. Chapter 82

**_A/N: _**_Hi y'all! Sorry I haven't been updating as much as before. Rest assured, I will update at least three times a week. I have many more chapters of this story already written and waiting to be posted. There's a reason I'm spacing out the chapters which I can't tell ya' yet. I don't want to give anything away. But rest assured you will be getting three chapters a week for now. Once again thank you for reading and a very special thanks to all you lovely folks who take the time to review. =)_

_**CHAPTER 82**_

* * *

><p>Noah sits with Marley and Dylan for their lunch period. Lila sits down next to them. "Do you want to come with me to Drew's basketball game after school today?" Noah asks Marley. "It's his first game. He's really excited."<p>

"Sure, I'll come." Marley answers, not taking her eyes off of Lila who's sitting across from her.

Noah looks over at Lila to see what's so fascinating. He can't help but stare himself. Lila's inhaling all the food off her plate like it was her last meal ever. She uses her bread to soak up all the sauce from the school's lasagna and shovels it in her mouth. "Aren't you going to eat your lasagna, Dylan?" Lila asks with her mout still full.

"No. You can have it." Dylan passes Lila his plate. "I hate the school's lasagna. It taste like dog food."

"I think it's good." Lila digs in to Dylan's lasagna.

"Wow, you must be starving." Noah comments.

Marley shoots Noah a look and kicks him under the table. "Ouch!" Noah complains. "What'd you do that for?"

Marley gives him another look and then looks at Lila scoffing down the lasagna. After she's finished, Lila excuses herself to go to the bathroom.

"You should follow her." Noah tells Lila.

"Why?"

"Lila did the same thing at my house at Christmas dinner. She inhaled all this food really fast and then went to the bathroom right after."

"You think she's sticking her fingers down her throat to barf it back up?" Marley asks.

"Nasty." Dylan scowls.

"I don't know." Noah says. "Just go to the bathroom and see."

Marley rises to her feet and walks to the girls bathroom. As soon as she walks in she hears the sound of gagging and splashing. She grimaces before she hurries back to her table.

"Well?" Noah asks.

"You were right. She's puking her food back up." Marley's still grimacing.

"Did you say anything to her?" Dylan asks.

"No. I got out of there as fast as I could."

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper sit on the bleachers at the elementary school gym. Noah and Marley climb up the steps of the bleachers to join them. "Look! There he is." Charlotte points to Drew as his team walks out. "He's number eight."<p>

"I see him." Cooper looks on.

"Doesn't he look adorable in his uniform?"

"Mom?" Noah shakes his head.

"What?" Charlotte looks at Noah.

"It's not about looking cute in the uniform. It's about playing the game." Noah huffs.

Andie climbs up the stairs and takes a seat next to Cooper. "Well, what a nice surprise?" Cooper smiles at Andie. "I thought you'd be out with Nicky tonight?"

"Are you kidding me?" Andie scrunches her nose at Cooper. "And miss Drew's first basketball game, ever?"

Cooper whispers to Charlotte. "Andie's imposter is here." Cooper jokes.

"Told ya'." Charlotte quirks up an eyebrow.

Drew runs around the basketball court chasing the ball. They all cheer out loud when he makes a basket. "He's pretty good." Andie tells Cooper. "On account of how short he is compared to his teammates, I'm surprised he's even able to get the ball in the basket."

"Drew can really jump high." Marley comments. "He's like the energizer bunny. He runs faster than anyone out there."

Charlotte and Cooper exchange glances. They've heard that before. Drew's team wins. The Freedman family make their way down to the basketball court to meet Drew.

"Congratulations." Cooper hands slaps with Drew.

Charlotte gives Drew a hug. "You played great, Squirt."

"Did you see I made three baskets, momma?" Drew asks, excited.

"Yes, I saw." Charlotte tousles Drew's hair.

Noah picks Drew up in the air, lifting him by the legs. He holds him high. "You're a champ, Squirt."

Drew laughs at first but then starts yelling: "Put me down! Put me down!"

Noah puts Drew down into a standing position. Drew falls down to the floor and starts crying. "My leg! My leg!"

"What did I do?" Noah asks, concerned.

"My leg feels squishy." Drew cries. "Help me!" He looks at Cooper.

"What?" Cooper squats down on the ground in front of him. "I don't understand what you mean by squishy?"

"What's wrong. Drew?" Charlotte kneels down next to her son now.

"My foot feel like pins and needles!" He screams.

"It probably just fell asleep." Charlotte suggests. "Try standing him up, Coop. Have him shake it out."

Cooper stands Drew up. "It's burning now!" Drew yells. "My foot is burning!"

The coach comes running over. "What's going on?"

"Drew hurt his his foot." Cooper tells the coach.

"Did he twist it?" The coach asks.

"We're not sure."

"You can take him to the nurses office to check it out. I don't know if the nurse is still there since it's after hours." The coach suggests.

Charlotte tells the coach. "I'd like to take him to the nurse's office just to get a better look at his foot."

"It's the first door on the right after you leave the gym." The coach points.

Cooper carries Drew to the nurse's office. It's dark, she's obviously gone home for the day. He turns the light on and sits Drew down on the table.

Charlotte removes Drew's shoe and sock. She examines his foot. "My foot feels hot, momma." Drew complains. Andie, Noah, Cooper and Marley all stand around the exam table staring at Drew's foot.

"Can y'all go outside and wait?" Charlotte looks at the bunch of them. "There's not enough room in here to swing a cat."

"Okay. We'll wait outside." Andie walks out the door. Noah and Marley follow her.

Cooper looks at Charlotte. "I'm staying. I don't care if you don't have any room to swing your cat."

"Let me see you wiggle your foot." Charlotte tells Drew.

Drew wiggles his foot.

"Does it hurt?" Cooper asks.

"No, it feels better now. It doesn't feel hot anymore." Drew puts his sneaker back on and jumps off the table. "I'm ready to go." He tells them.

"That was weird." Cooper tells Charlotte. They follow Drew out into the hall.

"What was wrong with Drew's foot?" Noah asks.

"Whatever it was went as fast as it came." Charlotte tells them.

"Who wants to go out for ice cream?" Cooper asks.

"Me!" They all answer.

Andie takes her own car to the ice cream parlor. Nicky calls while she's driving. "Hey Belle, where are you?"

"I was at my brother's basketball game and now we're going out for ice cream."

"Do you wanna stop by the cottage when you're done?"

Andie sighs. "Nah, not tonight."

"Why not?"

"It's not a good night."

"Is it your time of the month or something?" Nicky asks.

"What?" Andie grimaces. "That's a personal question."

"I asked because I don't want you to think I'm calling you over to have sex. We could go bowling or to a movie."

"It's not my time of the month." Andie tells him. She wishes it was, she's ten days late now and worried.

"So, why don't you want to hang out tonight?"

"I have homework. I need to learn my lines for a play we're doing in drama club. I'll stop by to see you this weekend."

"Andie, I've hardly seen you since the new year started. What's going on?"

"I just went out to breakfast with you last weekend."

"That was last week. I haven't seen you since."

"Sorry, Nicky, but I've been busy with school stuff."

"If you're seeing someone else just tell me, Belle."

"Whoa! Where did that come from?" Andie asks, surprised.

"It feels like you're avoiding me. What am I supposed to think?"

"I'm not avoiding you. I'm just busy." Andie lies. Truth be told she _is_ avoiding him so she doesn't have to tell him she might be pregnant. "I don't want to see anyone else. I've just been busy. Really. We'll hang out this weekend. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm counting on it."

"Me too." Andie hangs up. She plans to see him this weekend. She hopes she gets her period by then or she's going to have to tell him she skipped taking the pill and could be pregnant.

Andie pulls into the ice cream shop parking lot behind Cooper. She gets out of the car. "What's the matter?" Cooper asks her. "You look like you just lost your best friend."

"I do miss Danielle." Andie tells him.

"Is that all it is, kiddo? You can talk to me." Cooper puts his arm around her as they walk through the parking lot. Charlotte holds hands with Drew while Marley and Noah hold hands.

"That's all it is, daddy." Andie lies. She doesn't want her daddy to know what's really bugging her. She knows it would break his heart if his baby girl was pregnant.

"How are things going with Nicky?" Cooper asks as they walk towards the door of the ice cream shoppe.

"Things are fine with Nicky. Why?"

"Well, you don't seem to be hanging out with him at his cottage as much lately." Cooper opens the door for her.

Andie walks in the busy ice cream shoppe. "I'm taking your advice for the new year. I'm still seeing Nicky but I'm focusing on my classes and the drama club more this year." She tells Cooper what he wants to hear.

"That's great. How do you like the drama club?" Cooper gets in line behind Charlotte to order.

"I love it, daddy."

"See. I knew you would. You need to do more than just hang out with Nicky. That's all I ask, pumpkin."

"I know, daddy. That's what I'm doing." Andie waits in line with Cooper, hoping her problem is resolved by the weekend so she doesn't have to give him any news he doesn't want to hear.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	83. Chapter 83

_**CHAPTER 83**_

* * *

><p>It's Friday night. Charlotte and Cooper join friends for an evening out at Giorgio's. Cole's throwing a party for Marley, Cole Jr and Dylan. They're all turning fourteen. Nicky's band *Broken Spell* is playing tonight.<p>

Charlotte and Cooper notice Violet and Pete sitting at a table near the stage. They walk over to greet their old friends. Violet rises up to greet them with a hug. Pete extends his hand. "How's it going?"

"It's going." Cooper shakes Pete's hand before sitting down. "How are you two doing?"

"Just peachy." Pete sits back down.

"Where's the rest of the Freedmans?" Violet asks.

"Noah came early with Chase and Tess. They should be around here somewhere." Charlotte answers, looking around.

"What about Andie and Drew?" Violet sips her drink.

"We got a babysitter for Drew. Andie should be here soon. She was following us in her own car." Cooper tells.

"We figured Andie wouldn't want to miss this party since her boyfriend and his band are playing." Pete sips his rum and coke.

It doesn't get by Charlotte that Jolie walks in with the new young oncologist from the hospital. "Looks like Jolie's here with her new flame."

"Aha." Cooper nods, watching. "And there's Amelia mingling with with Cole."

Amelia notices the group and approaches their table with Cole by her side. "We want to thank you all for coming to the kid's birthday party." Cole tells them. "It's going to be a blast, as my kids would say. We booked Nicky Poulos's band, Spell Broken."

Charlotte nods. "Good choice. Spell Broken is certainly in demand."

"Amelia wouldn't have it any other way." Cole teases. Amelia playfully smacks his arm.

"The kids wanted Spell Broken and you know it." Amelia tells Cole with a smile.

"Admit you wanted Spell Broken too." Cole teases. 'You like the way Nicky Poulos moves around the stage when he sings."

"Stop it." Amelia playfully smacks Cole's arm. "Nicky's dating their daughter." Amelia gestures to Charlotte and Cooper.

"I'm just playing." Cole tells them. "I like to tease Amelia."

"Excuse us." Amelia interrupts. "We have more guests to greet." Cole and Amelia walk off to another table.

Cooper asks. "How much have they had to drink already?"

Charlotte quips. "They're drunk on each other, not alcohol."

Cooper shakes his head at his wife. "I hope you're wrong for Sheldon's sake."

Violet pipes in. "They're just greeting people together because they're Dylan's parents. It's innocent."

Pete argues that point with Violet. "Amelia and Cole are far from innocent. Cole's also the father of Jolie's twins and he's _not_ walking around greeting guests with her."

Violet retorts. "That's because Jolie and Cole are getting divorced. Cole and Amelia are friends. What do you expect, Pete?"

"Anyone else need a drink?" Pete raises his brows at Cooper. "I'm going to the bar."

"We're good." Cooper answers for himself and Charlotte

Andie comes to the party by herself wearing a clingy red dress with black tights and heels. She sits down next to her parents. "To what do we owe this honor?" Cooper teases his seventeen year old daughter. "I can't believe you want to sit next to us."

Andie shrugs. "Nicky's singing with the band tonight. Chase is dancing with Tess and Noah's got Marley. You guys are it."

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess I'm not that honored." Cooper teases.

Pete walks back to the table with his vodka. His daughter Lila is by his side "Hi everyone." Lila greets.

"Sit down next to me." Pete tells Lila.

"No offense daddy, but I want to sit with Dylan and Marley tonight. It's their birthday." She grabs a chocolate covered strawberry off Pete's plate and puts it in her mouth. She steals a buttered roll off Violet's plate. "Mmm. That's good." Lila walks off with the food.

"Looks like Lila's over her problem." Cooper tells Violet.

"Looks that way." Violet agrees.

"I'm not convinced." Pete pipes in. "She's still got a long way to go before she reaches her target weight."

"She'll get there, Pete, give her time." Violet's voice has a hint of annoyance.

Pete shakes his head, annoyed. "Someone needs to get their head out of their ass."

"Not cool." Cooper tells Pete.

Pete gets up. He goes back to the bar to talk to Sheldon.

Cooper turns to Violet." Pete's just stressed over Lila. Try not to take it personal."

"Pete implies I've got my head up my ass and I'm not supposed to take that personal?" Violet gawks at Cooper.

"Maybe you two should try couple's counseling again. It helped the last time you went." Cooper suggests.

"The problem is convincing Pete we need to go back." Violet gets up to grab a drink.

Nicky's band takes the stage. The teenage girls scream and hoot for Nicky and his band mates. The boys whistle for the female singer. Andie sits next to her parents watching quietly. Nicky's band starts playing their first song~~~_Move like Jaggar~~~ _The hoots and screams get louder.

"Aren't you going to say hi to Nicky?" Cooper asks.

"Nicky's working, daddy. I can't exactly go up to the stage and give him a hug hello."

"Is everything okay with you and Nicky?" Charlotte asks Andie.

"Yeah, why?" Andie shrugs.

"It's just that you've been around the house and us...a lot more than usual."

"Nicky's going to UCLA now. He's got to study at night. Plus, he's got band practice. He can't just get up there and play for parties, momma. He needs to practice with his band."

"I realize that they need to practice, Andie. No need to sass me." Charlotte's tone is stern.

"Nicky's always played in the band and he still managed to make time for you everyday before." Cooper comments.

"Did you not hear the part when I said Nicky's going to UCLA now, daddy?" Andie says sarcastically. "He does have to study for his classes now too."

"Don't use that tone with your father." Charlotte shoots.

"Sorry." Andie apologizes. The truth is she's stressed about the thought of being pregnant and having to keep it all to herself. She can't help it if she comes off cranky.

"It's okay, Kiddo." Cooper gives Andie a smile. He knows something's bugging his little girl but now is certainly not the time to talk about it. "Look there's Tyler." Cooper points out. "Why don't you go and say hi." Cooper suggests.

"No. He's with Allison, she hates me."

"Okay" Cooper nods. "Then just sit here with us old folk all night."

Pete comes back to the table together with his drink.

"Speak for yourself." Pete tells Cooper. "Maybe you're old nut we're not."

"Yeah." Charlotte teases Cooper and throws a crumpled up napkin at him.

"Food fight!" Cooper tosses a strawberry at Charlotte.

"Don't even start." Charlotte chuckles and warns him.

Andie looks at her parents and rolls her eyes, clearly embarrassed.

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess dance while Nicky sings along with his band. "I love this song." Tess holds onto Chase.<p>

"This turned out to be a decent party after all." Chase holds onto Tess's hips while they dance.

"Did you have doubts?"

"It's a party for fourteen year olds. I wasn't expecting much but Cole went all out on this party." Chase comments.

"It's at Giorgio's, good food, Spell Broken, I knew it would be worth coming." Tess looks around at the crowd. She notices Haili watching them. "What is she doing here?"

"Who?" Chase asks.

"Haili. Look she's over there." Tess gestures in Haili's direction.

"I don't know. She must know either Dylan or the twins somehow." Chase waves at Haili.

After a few minutes Haili saunters over in a tight blue dress. "Hi," Haili greets them both. "May I?" Haili puts her hands on Chase's arm.

Chase isn't sure what to do so he lets her cut in. "Uh...Sure."

Tess walks back to her table to sit down. She rests her chin on hand, watching Chase dance with Haili.

"What are you doing here?" Chase asks Haili.

"I'm neighbors with Marley and Cole Jr. My mom and their mom are good friends."

"Cool." Chase answers. "I didn't know you would be here."

"I didn't know you would be here either." Haili tells him. "It must be fate."

Tess can't take anymore. She rises to her feet and heads for the exit. Chase watches Tess while he's dancing with Haili. "Excuse me, Haili, but I have to go." Chase follows Tess out to the parking lot. "Where are you going?" Chase calls after her.

Tess turns around on her heels. "Home!"

"Why? I thought you were having fun?"

"I was until my boyfriend ditched me to dance with another girl." Tess snaps.

"Haili's a friend."

"It doesn't matter. You don't ditch your girlfriend to dance with a friend."

"I didn't ditch you. It was one dance." Chase tries to explain. "She cut in. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to say '_NO!' "_ Tess huffs.

"Sorry, but I thought that would be rude."

"So, you can't be rude to Haili, but you can be rude to me? It was rude to let her cut in while I had to go sit alone."

"You're overreacting, Tess."

"Whatever." Tess scoffs. "I just want to go home."

"You can't go home. I drove you here."

"I called a cab." Tess shoots.

"I'm not letting you take a cab home alone at night after what happened to you at the barn. Get in my car. I'll drive you home."

Tess agrees. She follows Chase to his car. After they climb in Tess asks. "Are you going back to the party after you drop me off at home?"

"I'm not in the mood for a party anymore."

"Why do you sound mad? I'm the one who should be mad." Tess accuses.

"You were overreacting because you're jealous of Haili."

"How would you like it if I started dancing with some guy friend of mine while you were left sitting all alone at the table?"

"That would never happen because you don't have any friends." Chase regrets it the minute it comes out of his mouth. He wishes he could take it back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Tess stares straight out the window.

"I'm sorry." Chase says again.

"Just take me home." Tess's voice is a combination of hurt and annoyance.

Chase tries to explain. "I'm just upset we had to leave the party early. I was having a good time. It was a really good party and...-."

Tess snaps "...it was a really good party unitl Haili showed up."

"Why can't you get it that Haili is just a friend?" Chase asks.

"Why can't you get it that Haili wants more from you than to be just friends?"

"Don't you trust me?" Chase looks at Tess.

"I don't trust _her_ and it really upsets me that you let her cut in. It was like she won."

"I didn't know there was a competition."

"Because you're so damn oblivious to what's going on?" Tess scoffs.

"Are we still good?" Chase asks.

"We were good until Haili showed up. It doesn't feel like we're good anymore."

"We're just having a little fight." Chase tells Tess. "All couples fight, even my parents."

"I don't like fighting." Tess shrugs,

They pull up in front of Tess house. Chase walks Tess to the door. He leans forward to give her kiss on the lips but she turns her head. His lips brush her cheek. "Goodnight," he tells her.

"Goodnight." She goes inside and closes the door. She leans up against it and thinks about the night.

* * *

><p>Lila comes out of the bathroom and joins Noah, Marley and Dylan at their table. "Whatcha' guys doing?"<p>

"Watching my brother, Cole, dance with Suzie" Marley tells her.

"They make a cute couple." Lila notes.

Marley tells Lila. "I'm glad my brother found someone he connects with."

"Yeah, yeah, enough about your brother. I have a birthday surprise for you and Dylan." Lila smiles.

"What is it?" Marley asks.

"Come outside with me and I'll show you." Lila gets up.

The group follows Lila outside to the parking lot. Marely looks around. "Did you get us a car?" She jokes.

"I got you this." Lila pulls a bag of weed out of her pocket. Marley, Noah and Dylan all stare at it.

"We can't." Marley's the first to say. "We can't, after what happened last time."

"It's just for tonight, for your birthday." Lila tells Marley.

"I'm willing to do it to celebrate my birthday." Dylan says. "Count me in."

Lila lights up a joint and gives it to Dylan. "What about you, Marley?" Lila asks.

Marley looks at Noah. "Only if Noah does it with me."

"There's enough to share with Noah." Lila assures her.

"What do you think, Noah?"

Noah takes a few minutes. He goes back and forth about it in his head and finally answers. "Okay, since it's your birthday, but not here in the parking lot. Anyone can come out and see us. We'll have to go behind the building."

The foursome walk toward the back of the building.

* * *

><p>The band takes a break. The teenage girls all shout out for Nicky as he jumps off the stage. Nicky greets the girls before walking towards Andie's table. Andie rises to her feet. "I gotta go say hi to Nicky." She excuses herself.<p>

Cooper looks at Charlotte. "Did that sound to you like it was a chore, the way she said it?"

"It did. Maybe the spark is finally dying." Charlotte raises her eyebrows at Cooper.

"I told you it was just a matter of time before they'd start to fizzle out." Cooper sips his beer. "Never push the kids into anything. They always come around in time."

Charlotte watches Andie saunter up to Nicky. Andie hugs Nicky tight before kissing his lips. "I think you spoke too soon, Coop. Looks like they're still sizzling to me."

Nicky breaks away from the kiss to tell Andie, "Come outside with me. Belle. I've got ten minutes." Nicky walks towards the back door while Andie follows him.

Once outside Andie hugs Nicky again. "I'm so lucky."

"Yeah? Why?" Nicky pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"You can have any girl you want but you chose me." Andie clings on to Nicky tight.

"There's lots of girls but you're the only Belle." He pulls a cigarette out of the pack and lights it in his mouth.

"I better be." Andie looks up at him.

"Shit. You look hot in that dress." He inhales his cigarette while admiring Andie's clingy red dress and black tights. "What are you trying to do to me?" He teases. "I gotta be back up on stage in a few."

"You don't look so bad yourself." She leans in to kiss him again. "Better watch out, I might wanna jump you while you're on stage."

"Hmmm." He hugs her tight. "It feels like like a year since I last saw you."

Andie laughs. "It's only been a week but I'm flattered."

Nicky spots something in the distance. "Isn't that your brother and his friends over there?" Nicky gestures to four young people leaning against the back of the restaurant.

Andie looks in their direction. "Yep. It looks like them."

"Smells like weed." Nicky comments.

"Yeah, that's definitely them." Andie quirks an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to go over there and say something?" Nicky asks.

"Nah. I got my own stuff to worry about." Andie shrugs.

Nicky's curious. "What do you have to worry about?"

"Nothing." Andie realizes she shouldn't have said that.

"You just said you had your own stuff to worry about. Spill, Belle."

"I'm worried about pleasing my parents, you know? My dad's always on me, watching what I'm doing, plus I miss Danielle."

"You always got me." Nicky puffs on his cigarette. "Use me."

"I know." Andie hugs Nicky, leaning her head on his chest.

Nicky rubs her back. "I was starting to think maybe you took your dad's advice and started seeing someone else."

"Never." Andie looks up at him.

"I got used to you knocking on my door everyday." Nicky kisses the top of her head. "You haven't knocked on my door since the new year started. I was getting a little worried you made a resolution to get rid of me."

"You don't have anything to worry about. I'm yours." Andie kisses Nicky on the lips. This one is full of passion. "Did that convince you?"

"Oh yeah!" Nicky smiles and takes another puff on his cigarette. "You wanna come over tonight after the party?"

"I need to talk to you about something first." Andie sighs, leaning her head back on his chest while grasping onto his shoulder.

"What is it?" Nicky takes another puff on his cigarette.

Cody pokes his head out the back door. "I figured I might find you here. We gotta get back on stage now."

Nicky drops his cigarette on the ground and steps on it. "Duty calls."

"I'll stop by to see you this weekend." Andie gives him a quick kiss on the lip.

"I thought you wanted to tell me something? They can wait a minute."

"It's not that important. It can wait 'til the weekend."

"Okay. Catch ya' later." Nicky walks back in the restaurant with Cody.

Noah and his friends walk past Andie to head back into the restaurant.

Andie holds her hand up to them about to say something. They all stop and stare at her.

"I didn't see anything." Andie tells them.

"Thanks, Andie Candy." Noah nods at his older sister.

"Your sister's a cool cat." Lila tells Noah.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review!<strong>_


	84. Chapter 84

_**CHAPTER 84**_

* * *

><p>It's Saturday, Andie finds herself on the steps of Nicky's cottage. She promised him she'd come over to see him this weekend. She gulps and takes a minute before knocking. She knows she has to tell him she's two weeks late for her period. There's no point in putting off the inevitable. She takes a deep breath before knocking. Nicky answers. The first thing she notices is his shoulder length dark hair and bright smile.<p>

"You're looking good." She walks in the door.

"Why thank you. You're looking pretty sweet yourself in that little black skirt I got you for Christmas." He shuts the door.

"I'm wearing the red blouse you got me too." Andie takes off her coat. "See?"

"I knew you'd look hot in that." Nicky boasts. "Did I do good or what?"

"You did good." She smiles. "Your hair is getting a little long." She pulls on a strand of his dark brown hair.

"You think I should get it cut?" He asks running his hand down his head.

"No, it makes you look like a rocker." Andie runs her hand through his hair.

"That's what I thought. Cody's growing his hair out too. We want to change our image to help the band to take off this year." Nicky tells her.

"What about Jodi? Her hair is already down to her waste." Andie asks about the female vocalist in the band.

"Jodi's may cut hers. She'll do whatever it takes to get our band noticed."

"Your band is already tops. You guys don't need to change a thing." Andie sits on the couch.

"Coming from my girlfriend." Nicky smiles and sits down next to her.

"Have you been to the dentist?" Andie looks at his smile.

"That's a weird question." He chuckles "But you're right. I went to the dentist yesterday. Have you been spying on me again?"

"No." Andie snickers. "Your teeth look sparkly white; normally they're a little yellow."

"I had them cleaned yesterday. " He turns up his lip and asks. "Why didn't you tell me if you thought my teeth were yellow?"

"They're not yellow anymore. They're all white and sparkly today." She's staring at his teeth now.

"I perform on stage. You need to tell me these things, Belle. You're my girlfriend."

"They were just a little yellow. I figured it was from smoking." Andie tells him. "I'm sure nobody else could notice. I'm the only one that gets up real close to your mouth."

"How about you get up close to my mouth now?" He pulls her in for a long kiss.

"I like getting up close to you." She kisses him. It's a wet eager kiss. She's missed him terribly. The last time she saw him was was last Saturday when she threw up at Giorgio's.

"I'm so glad you're here. I was afraid you might blow me off this weekend."

"This weekend I'm all yours." Andie hugs him.

"Good. What do you want to do?" He asks.

"I'll show you." Andie grins before pushing him onto the couch. She climbs on top, kissing him again.

* * *

><p>Cooper lets Marley in the house. "Noah! Your little friend is here!" He shouts out.<p>

"I'm not that little anymore Dr. Freedman. I just turned fourteen."

"I know, I was at your party." Cooper teases. "Fourteen _is_ little when you're my age."

Noah meets them in the foyer. "Hey Marz Barz, come on in. I was just playing video games with your brother and Suzi."

Marley follows Noah into his family room where she is pleasantly surprised to see that it's her brother Cole playing video games with Suzanna. "I didn't know Cole was here, I thought you meant Dylan."

Noah tells Marley quietly. "Suzie asked me to invite Cole over. She has a crush on your brother."

"Cool." Marley nods then tells Noah. "It's nice to see Cole with a girl instead of his math geek friends."

Noah sticks his hands in his pockets. "I had a good time at your birthday party. It rocked."

"Yeah, my dad went all out by having it at Giorgio's. Nicky's band Spell Broken rocked it."

"I hope your dad gives you a party like that every year."

"Nah...He just did it because it was the first year we celebrated our birthday together with Dylan. My mother always made us have a separate party from Dylan but now that they're divorced my dad can do whatever he wants."

"Well, it rocked until Lila brought out the joints for your birthday present. I wasn't expecting that." Noah explains. "I thought we were done with that stuff after we got caught last time."

"Sorry I pressured you to smoke the joint with me last night." Marley tries to justify it. "It was my birthday and I figured one last time and all."

"It's not your fault, Marz Barz. You didn't twist my arm. I could have said no."

"Was it worth it? I mean, are you okay that we smoked at my party?" Marley asks.

"Yeah." Noah assures Marley. "I'm okay with it but I don't think we should do it again, even if Dylan and Lila do it."

"Why? Are you afraid of getting caught again?"

"It's not just that. I don't want to get addicted. Chase told me about this kid at school that started smoking weed and now he's moved on to coke. His dealer gave him coke free at first. The kid thought the guy was being cool but the guy was giving it to him to get him addicted and now he has to pay big bucks for it if he wants to get high."

"That sucks." Marley frowns.

"Not to mention, my parents will kill me if they find out I'm smoking weed again."

"Mine too." Marley agrees. "So, what should we do on this gorgeous Saturday? I don't want to stay inside and play video games with Cole and Suzie."

"We could call Dylan and Lila and see if they want to go skate boarding or something." Noah suggests.

"Okay, but no weed." Marley asserts. "Even if Lila and Dylan offer it to us."

"You got it, Marz Barz."

* * *

><p>Chase calls Tess on his mobile phone. "Do you want to come over and study with me?"<p>

"Is Haili going to be there?" Tess asks.

"Her parents are paying me to tutor her in math, so yeah."

Tess sighs on the other end of the phone.

Chase adds. "That's why I'm calling you to come over. You can study with us so it's not just me and Haili."

"I don't need to be tutored." Tess scoffs. "I have a brain."

"I know you don't need to be tutored. Are you coming over or what?" Chase asks.

"Nope. Study with Haili."

"Then, what are you going to do today?"

"Actually, I'm going to go with my brother and his girlfriend to watch the football game."

"Why?" Chase turns up his nose and asks.

"Because I rather go to the football game than watch my boyfriend help some ditz with her math homework."

"Do you want to do something later?"

"My brother and his girlfriend are going to hang out with the guys after the game. I said I'd go with them."

"Okay. I'll call you tonight." Chase sighs.

"Bye."

* * *

><p>Nicky smokes a cigarette while Andie nervously makes circles on his chest with her finger. They just had amazing sex and now she needs to tell him she might be pregnant. She thinks of how to say it. She takes a deep breath and blurts out the words. "I'm two weeks late." She closes her eyes and waits for his reaction.<p>

"Huh?" He puffs on his cigarette. "Late for what?"

Is he kidding?…He still doesn't get it? She opens her eyes and looks at the ceiling. "I was supposed to get my period two weeks ago and I didn't get it."

"Did you tell your mother?" He asks in a rather calm voice.

"No."

"Why not?" Nicky turns to look at her. "You should tell your mother. She's a doctor. She must know a reason why you would be two weeks late."

Andie furrows her brow. Does he still not get it? She takes another deep breath before saying. "I think I might be pregnant."

Now he turns over to looking her directly in the eyes. "That's impossible. You're on the pill." He thinks a minute before asking. "Did you forget to take it one day?"

"I missed taking it for four days in a row." There she said it. Now he knows. She waits for the reaction.

Nicky sits up in the bed now. He furrows his brow while looking at her. "How could you forget to take it for _four_ days in a row?"

"I didn't forget. It was when we were at the safe house. I didn't have the pill with me there."

"Why didn't you ask the guard to bring it like he brought your seizure med?"

"Because, your mother was standing right there. She was making us sleep in separate bedrooms anyway. I didn't think I needed it but then she left and we stayed the extra night."

"Why didn't you tell me you were off the pill?"

"It was New Years Eve. You wanted to bang in the New Year at midnight."

Nicky scrunches up his face. "Not by knocking you up."

Andie stares at the ceiling. "I didn't think it would happen after just one time."

"Why haven't you taken a test yet if you're two weeks late?"

"I told you, I don't think I should be pregnant from just the one time. Maybe my body is messed up because I skipped the pill for four days and then started to take it again."

"Wouldn't it be better to just take the test and know for sure?"

"I wanted to see what you thought first." Andie shrugs.

"I _think_ you need to take the test." Nicky's voice is tainted with annoyance.

"I'll take the test tomorrow."

"Is this why you were avoiding me?" Nicky looks at her. "So, you wouldn't have to tell me you didn't take the pill for four days and might be pregnant?"

Andie scrunches up her face but doesn't answer.

Nicky looks at her. "I get that you're scared. Take the test tomorrow and call me as soon as you find out." Nicky lights up another cigarette before laying back down next to her.

"I will." Andie's dreading it. Considering the way she's felt bloated and nauseous all week, she's pretty sure she already knows the answer and she's pretty sure Nicky's not going to like it.

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks in the door. "I'm home!" She calls out while she tosses her purse on the table. Cooper comes out of the kitchen. "Well hello, pretty woman. How was work?"<p>

"Not bad." Charlotte laughs. "You're in a good mood today."

"I guess I am."

"Where are the kids?" Charlotte picks up the mail to look at it.

"Uh...let's see." Cooper thinks. "I'm not sure where Andie went but Chase is at the library studying with Haili. Noah went skate boarding with Marley and Drew is playing at the park with Sara."

"Who took them?" Charlotte looks up from her mail.

"Amelia and Sheldon took them. They're going to take them out for lunch after."

Charlotte quirks an eyebrow up at Cooper. "Amelia and Sheldon took them?"

"I know what you're thinking. I don't think Amelia knows who she wants anymore." Cooper comments.

Charlotte shrugs. "Amelia wants Cole for the excitement and hot sex and on the other hand she wants Sheldon for the stability."

"Cole's just as financially stable as Sheldon." Cooper peels a banana.

"That's not what I mean. Cole's a flirt. Amelia's afraid to get into a long term relationship with Cole because he has a wandering eye. Sheldon's not going anywhere."

"Amelia has to decide what's more important at this point in her life; excitement or stability." Cooper remarks. "You, on the other hand are lucky."

"Why's that?" Charlotte puts the mail down on the table.

Cooper answers. "Because you have me. You have hot sex and stability all wrapped up in one."

Charlotte moves closer to Cooper. "I am lucky, aren't I?" She starts to unbutton his shirt. "Don't ya' just love Saturday's? Looks like it's just me and you this afternoon." She wraps her arms around his neck.

"What should we do?" Cooper flirts. "Since we've got the whole house to ourselves this afternoon."

"I could think of something." Charlotte's hands go directly to Cooper's belt buckle.

"Great minds think alike." Cooper scoops Charlotte up into his arms to carry her upstairs. "You better not drop me." She teases.

"Are you kidding me?" He grins. "Today, I'm Superman and you're Lois Lane."

"Oh really?" Charlotte smiles at Cooper as her carries her up the steps in his arms.

"Aha." Cooper nods and carries her to the bed.

Charlotte flirts, batting her eyes, as she plays her role of Lois Lane. "Show me watcha' got, Superman."

"I intend to, woman." Cooper climbs on top of her and they're off.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	85. Chapter 85

_**CHAPTER 85**_

* * *

><p>Drew's sitting pretzel legged style on the floor playing Candy-Land with Andie. "No cheating." Andie warns her little brother.<p>

"I'm not cheating!" Drew defends.

"The card you picked up said you could move four purple spots, you moved six spots."

"Did not. I was here." Drew points to a spot.

"Were not, you were here." Andie points to a different spot.

Cooper sails into the room. "Are you ready, Drew? We have to leave for basketball practice in about two minutes." Cooper looks at his watch.

"I'm ready, daddy." Drew rises to a standing position but quickly falls back down.

Andie laughs at her little brother.

"What happened, Squirt?" Cooper asks.

"My foot fell asleep again. It's been doing it a lot lately." Drew smacks his foot. "Bad foot!"

"You want me to massage it for you, Squirt?" Andie asks. "Last time it felt better after I massaged it."

"Okay." Drew puts his foot out. Andie pulls off his sneaker before gently massaging her little brother's foot.

"You have such tiny feet." Andie comments.

"I know." Drew agrees. "Maybe if they were bigger they wouldn't need so much sleep."

Andie laughs at her little brother's innocence

Cooper explains. "Your feet fall asleep because you sit on them. You're cutting off the circulation."

"I wasn't sitting on it. I was sitting pretzel legged." Drew tells Cooper.

Andie looks up. "He wasn't sitting on it, dad."

It feels better now." Drew shakes his foot for Cooper. "See, daddy?"

"That's good, Squirt. C'mon." Cooper puts his hand out for Drew to grab. "Let's go play some b-ball."

"Wait dad!" Andie calls out. "Let me put his shoe back on, first." Andie helps Drew put his shoe on and ties it for him.

"I love you, Andie." Drew hugs his big sister. "You're the best sister in the world."

"Aw, thanks Drew. You're a cool kid." Andie hugs her little brother tight.

Chase walks in the door while Cooper walks out with Drew out for his basketball game.

"I thought you went to Tess's house to study?" Andie asks Chase

"Tess doesn't want to study with me."

"Why not?"

"She's mad at me because I danced with Haili and the birthday party."

"Not cool." Andie says.

"Is it really that bad if I danced with Haili?"

"It is if Tess didn't want you too." Andie tells him.

"I don't get women. I don't get why she's so mad about one little dance."

Andie rolls her eyes. "You really are clueless."

The house phone rings. Chase answers it.

"It's Nicky." Chase tells Andie. "Nicky says you haven't been answering your phone so he called the house phone."

"I must have forgot to charge my phone." Andie lies. The truth is she's been ignoring Nicky's calls. "Tell Nicky I'll call him back. I have to clean up the board game."

"Here." Chase hands Andie the phone. "Talk to Nicky. It must be important if he called the house phone. I'll clean up the board game."

Andie grabs the phone from Chase. "What?" Andie answers. Her voice sounds annoyed. She knows what Nicky wants and she doesn't want to deal with it.

"Why haven't you been returning my calls or texts?"

"I've been busy."

"That's crap." Nicky shoots. "Did you do the test?"

Andie sighs. "No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Andie answers. "I just didn't." What she really means is she's scared to do it because she's afraid of the answer.

Nicky softens his voice. "I want to see you. We need to talk about this, Belle."

"When?" She asks.

"Now." He tells her. "I can come over there or you can come here. You pick."

"I'll come there." Andie hangs up the phone. She grabs her jacket on the way out.

Andie drives straight to Nicky's house. She uses her key to walk in the door. Nicky's friend Cody is sitting on the couch drinking a beer with Nicky.

"Hi. I didn't know Cody was here." She takes off her jacket.

"I stopped by to pick up some sheets of music. I'm not staying." Cody tells her.

"It's okay. Stay as long as you like." Andie tosses her jacket on the chair.

"Thanks." Cody tosses Andie a beer. Andie catches the beer. She looks at it a minute before putting it down on counter. Andie opens a kitchen cabinet and and takes some popcorn out. "Want some?" She asks.

"Not me." Cody tells her. "I'm leaving after I finish my beer."

"How 'bout you, Nicky?" Andie looks over at Nicky sitting on the couch. Nicky stays quiet. He sips his beer while watching television. He doesn't bother to look over at Andie. She knows he's pissed she hasn't done the test yet. Cody picks up on the tension.

Cody takes another guzzle of his beer. "Okay, I'm leaving now. I'll see you at Giorgio's tonight." Cody picks up his sheet music before leaving the cottage.

After Cody walks out the door, Nicky abruptly gets up and walks into the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Andie asks him. "I thought you called me over to talk?"

Nicky walks back out of the bedroom with a little white bag in his hand. He pulls out a box and tosses it to her. She catches it and reads: "Home pregnancy test." She looks up at him.

"Yeah, I went out and bought it for you. One of us needs to be responsible." He shoots. "Looks like it's me."

Andie looks back up and stares at Nicky like a deer caught in the headlights. This is it. She takes a deep breath. There's no getting out of doing it now. Nicky's watching her.

"What are you waiting for?" Nicky's voice is harsh. "Take it in the bathroom and just do it." He says.

"Fine." Andie pouts and brushes by him on her way to the bathroom. It doesn't take her long to do the test. She just wants to get this over with now. When she's done she pulls up her pants being careful not to look down at the stick in her hand. She puts it down on the counter without looking at it. She walks back out of the bathroom and into the kitchen breezing by Nicky. She picks up her jacket and puts it on.

"Well," Nicky asks her. "Are you pregnant?"

"I don't know." She shrugs.

"Didn't you do the test?"

"I did it. It's on the counter. You can go look at it if you want."

"Didn't you look at it?"

"Nope." She turns for the front door.

"Don't you want to know if you're pregnant before you leave?"

Andie shakes her head. She feels the tears coming to her eyes because she doesn't need to look at that test. She's noticed some subtle changes already. She's afraid she already knows the answer.

"Don't go anywhere!" Nicky orders her. The way he says it makes her freeze in place.

He stalks into the bathroom and picks the test stick up off the counter. His heart skips a beat. He stares a minute at the positive sign. He knows but compares it to the instruction sheet anyway. He takes a deep breath and sighs heavily. He walks out of the bathroom and throws the test stick to her to look at. "It's positive, you're pregnant."

She doesn't even try to catch the test stick. She lets it fall to the floor.

Nicky plops down on the couch with his head in his hands. "I can't believe this is happening."

Andie walks over to the couch and sits down next to him. She rubs his back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She tells him as the tears flow down her cheeks.

He looks up into her eyes. "Why you would do something like this to me? I trusted you."

"I didn't do it on purpose." She says softly, wiping away her own tears.

"You _knew_ you hadn't taken the pill in four days and you had sex with me anyway."

"I didn't plan to go all the way that night but then I couldn't stop." She tells him. "I was planning to stop and tell you I was off the pill but you were so excited about banging in the New Year. I figured one night wouldn't matter."

"Dumb kid." He mumbles to himself.

"What did you say?" She's not sure she heard him correctly.

"I said 'dumb kid.' " He repeats himself, clearly, this time.

"Who's the dumb kid?" She asks. "Me?" She has to ask. He can't seriously mean her. "Or the baby?"

"I meant _you_." He shoots. "The baby is innocent."

"So, I guess I'm the _only_ guilty party?" Andie scoffs now.

Nicky throws his arms up. "This is what I get for getting involved with a teenager. Your father was right. You _are_ too young for me." Nicky shoots his mouth off without thinking.

"What?" Andie's shocked to hear him say this all of the sudden.

"You're immature!" Nicky shoots. "You have no self control!"

"Don't blame it all on me!" Andie defends. It's starting to get loud and heated. "It takes _TWO_! I didn't get pregnant by myself!"

"_I_ _thought_ you were on the pill!" Nicky shouts at her. "_I _wouldn't have taken the risk like you did! That's the part that kills me. _YOU _made the decision to take the risk without giving me the choice. This is all on _YOU_." He looks at her. "It's your own fault that you got pregnant!"

Andie rises to her feet and shouts "Fine, I agree! It's my fault I let you knock me up!" Andie folds her arms and glares at him. "It's my fault that I loved you enough to take the risk and not ruin your New Years Eve by telling you we couldn't have sex. "

"So, you decided to ruin the rest of our lives instead?" His voice is harsh.

"I didn't _ruin_ our lives. You said yourself that we had amazing sex that night at the safe house."

"Was it worth it, Andie? Was one night of amazing sex worth ruining the rest of our lives for!"

"It's a _BABY_, Nicky! It's not the end of the world!"

Nicky stands up now. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"

Andie calms herself down, lowering her voice. "It's not the end of the world. It's not like one of us was diagnosed with cancer. Think about Dylan. Worse things could happen to us than having a baby."

"But, I don't want a _BABY_!" Nicky shouts.

"I didn't know you hated babies?" Andie crosses her arms.

Nicky lowers his voice now too. "Look, I don't _hate_ babies but I'm not ready for one yet. My band is just starting to take off. I just went back to school."

"That doesn't have to change because of a baby." Andie rubs his back now trying to comfort him.

Nicky rants at her. "You're living in Fantasyland, Belle, if you think a baby isn't going to change anything. Babies are expensive. Angelo from my band has one. He spends a fortune each week paying for diapers and formula. I'd need to quit school and get a decent paying day job to support a baby."

"No you won't. My parents can help us out." Andie tells him.

"What about you?" Nicky asks. "If you don't go to college next year your parents will be pissed."

"I can still go to college."

"Who's going to take care of the baby while you're at school?"

"My dad. He loves babies." Andie explains to Nicky. "My dad could retire early and take care of the baby."

Nicky laughs sarcastically. "Does your father even know you're pregnant?"

"Not yet."

"You _are_ like a little kid living in a fantasy world... " Nicky stresses "If you think for one minute that your dad is going to be happy you're pregnant... so he can take care of _your_ baby!" Nicky looks in her eyes. "Your dad is going to be livid when he finds out you're pregnant. He's going to kill me!"

Andie folds her arms and tells Nicky. "My parents will be upset at first but once the baby's born they'll love it."

Nicky wrinkles his nose, looking at her like she's just grown two heads.

Andie continues. "Everybody loves babies. They're so cute and soft."

"You did this on purpose!" Nicky shoots. "That's why you didn't tell me you missed the pill four days in a row. You _WANTED_ this!" He accuses.

"I did not!"

"You have it all planned out that your dad will retire and take care of the baby. You planned this." He accuses again with a scowl face.

"I did not!" Andie defends. "I've just had time to think about it over the past two weeks."

"You don't seem too upset about it."

"What do you want me to do?" Andie argues. "Sit around and cry all day? For your information, I've been doing that for the past two weeks."

Nicky sits back down on the couch. "We need to figure this out." He rubs his head. "We need to sit down and talk about this logically. It's not fair to expect your parents to support this baby financially or raise it."

"What do you want to do?"

"Adoption or abortion." He flat out admits. "I'm not ready to be a father."

"I don't think I can do that." Andie sits back down next to him on the couch.

"Which one can't you do?" Nicky asks. "Abortion? Or adoption?"

"Neither." Andie shrugs.

Nicky tells her. "I'm trying to get my band's name out there. That means working long hours and maybe traveling. Plus, I'm going back to school. I've got a full plate. There's no room for a baby in my life now.

"I don't think I could have an abortion. It's just not me."

"What about adoption?' Nicky asks. "What's wrong with adoption? My mother and your father were both adopted."

"It didn't go well for your mom." Andie points out. "She hates her adoptive family."

"It went well for your dad." Nicky retorts. "He loved his adoptive family."

Andie responds. "I think adoption is good if you don't have a strong relationship with the father." Andie explains. "I don't think I could give _our_ baby up. I would want to know it. I would want to know if it had red hair like me or brown hair like you and what color eyes it has. Plus, if we get married some day we'd always think about our first born that we gave up."

"It sounds like you've already made up your mind to keep this baby."

"I guess I have. I couldn't live in peace with myself if I gave it up or aborted it."

Nicky punches his fist hard into the couch cushion before getting up again. "I swear you wanted this! Didn't you?" Nicky accuses again. "You planned this!

"I already told you no! _NO_! I didn't do it on purpose!" Andie shouts back. Here we go again, she thinks. She really didn't do it on purpose but she took the risk without telling him, so she understands why he's mad.

"Come on, be honest, Belle. This was no accident! If you didn't want to get pregnant you would have told me you skipped the pill for four days." Nicky goes on. "You knew if you told me you were off the pill I wouldn't have had sex with you. You wanted this to happen!"

"That's ridiculous! I'm still in high school. My parents are going to kill me when they find out. Why the hell would I do this on purpose?"

"Because your father was hounding you to break up with me. This way we're tied together, forever." Nicky accuses.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Andie shouts again.

"Then prove it and have an abortion. If you didn't plan this then have an abortion." Nicky deadpans.

"No!" Andie folds her arms tight against her chest.

"Aha!" Nicky exclaims. "I knew you did it on purpose!"

"I did not!"

Nicky marches into his bedroom. Andie follows him. He pulls five hundred dollars out of his bedroom drawer. "This is for you to get an abortion. Have the abortion and our lives can go back to normal again."

"You keep five hundred dollars lying around like spare change?" She asks.

"It was a Christmas gift from my father. I was going to put it towards buying you a better ring."

"Nicky, if you plan to marry me one day, how could you ask me to abort our first child?"

"I'm not ready for a kid yet. Do I have to repeat my reasons for a third time?" Nicky's voice is starting to get agitated again. "Just take the money."

"And, if I don't have the abortion?"

"Then I'll call your parents and let them know their little girl has a bun in the oven."

"Don't you dare! My father could have another heart attack if you tell him. _I'll_ tell him when the time is right."

"If you're that worried about your father's health then you should have the abortion and forget you were ever pregnant."

"Fine." Andie grabs the money out of his hand.

"I don't know if that's enough. I never knocked up a girl before." Nicky says, annoyed. "Let me know when the appointment is. I'll go with you and bring more money if we need it."

"I don't want you to come with me. If you're going force me to do this, I'll never speak to you again."

"C'mon, Belle. It's the right thing to do." Nicky tries to hug her now. "We can relax. Everything will be back to normal after the abortion. Isn't that what you want?"

Andie pushes him away. "Nothing will ever be normal again."

"It can be." Nicky tells her. "After the abortion, we can forget any of this happened."

"Maybe you can forget but I never will." Andie deadpans.

"Besides all that, Belle, I know you don't like to admit it, but _we_ are related. We could have some genes in common. It could mess the baby up." Nicky suggests.

Andie responds. "Not necessarily. I already looked it up. The baby could only be messed up if it inherits a bad gene for a disease from both of us."

"We didn't do genetic testing to see if we had any bad genes in common yet." Nicky reminds Andie.

"We could have the baby tested to check for any problems while I'm pregnant. We can't just assume there's something wrong and abort it. The baby could be completely healthy." Andie points out to Nicky.

"C'mom Belle." Nicky pleads. "You said you didn't do it on purpose. Then have the abortion to prove it."

"Fine. " Andie scowls at him now. "I'll have the stupid abortion to prove to you I didn't get pregnant on purpose but I'll never forget you forced me into it." Andie walks out the door "And, I'll never speak to you again." Andie threatens, before she slams the door behind her.

Nicky leans against the closed door and sighs. She'll speak to him again, he thinks. It'll take some time but she'll get over it, he hopes so anyway

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper walk in the front door of their house with Drew. Drew runs to the couch and turns on a video game.<p>

"I'm glad you were able to make it to Drew's basketball game." Cooper helps Charlotte take off her coat. "Too bad they lost."

"They'll win next time." Charlotte twists out of her coat and hands it to Cooper. "Where is everyone?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Cooper hangs their coats up in the hall closet. "They were all home when I left for the basketball game earlier."

"Owww!" Drew yells out.

"What's wrong, Squirt?" Charlotte walks over to him.

"My foot is burning!" Drew squeals. "I need Andie! Where's Andie?" Drew yells out.

"Why do you need Andie?" Charlotte asks her six year old son.

"Cuz, Andie knows how to make it feel better."

"Well, Andie isn't home right now. What can I do?" Charlotte asks.

"You need to rub it like Andie does."

"Okay." Charlotte sits next to Drew on the couch. She holds Drew's foot on her lap and gently rubs it.

"Not like that." Drew tells his momma. "Do it like Andie does."

"How does Andie do it?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know. She just makes it feel better whenever she does it." Drew answers.

Andie walks in the door. Her eyes are red from crying. Cooper looks at her. "Just in time. Drew's asking for you."

"For me?" Andie sniffles. "Why?"

"His foot is bothering him again." Cooper explains. "He says that you know how to make it better."

"Yeah." Andie wipes her face. "I'll help him." Andie walks over to the couch. "Move over, momma. I know how to do it." Andie sits down and takes Drew's foot in her hand. She starts out gently massaging the bottom and top of his foot at the same time applying pressure from heel to toe. Charlotte watches.

"That feels good." Drew tells his sister.

Charlotte gets up now to talk to Cooper. "What do you think is going on with Drew's foot?" She asks quietly.

"It's strange." Cooper tells Charlotte. "Because that's not the same foot that was bothering him before. It's the opposite foot."

"Do you think he's doing it for attention?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Nah. He was crying to much. I think his feet really do hurt."

"But it goes away as quickly as it comes. What is that?" Charlotte asks Cooper. "Muscular or neuro?"

"It could be growing pains." Cooper shrugs, telling Charlotte.

"None of our other kids had this happen to them." Charlotte points out.

"They're all different." Cooper watches as Andie Massages Drew's foot for him.

"If it happens again. I think we should ask Amelia to do an EMG on him." Charlotte suggests.

"I hate to do that to him. Cooper grimaces. "EMG'S are painful."

"I don't like that it keeps happening." Charlotte's voice is concerned. "Something's up, Coop."

Cooper places his arm around Charlotte's waist. "I'm sure it's nothing but we can schedule the EMG on Monday if it'll make you feel better."

"It would." Charlotte nods.

"Yay!" Drew shouts. "My foot feels better. Andie fixed it." Drew shakes his foot in the air.

"Thank you, Andie." Charlotte smiles at her red headed daughter.

"Anything to help the kid out." Andie tousles Drew's hair before rising to her feet. She passes Charlotte and Cooper on her way to the staircase to go up to her room.

Cooper notices her red eyes again. "You okay, Andie Candy?"

"Yeah, why?" Andie feels her cheeks for any lingering wetness from the tears she cried on the car ride home from Nicky's cottage.

"Your eyes are red and puffy." Cooper tells her.

"I was rubbing them. They were itchy; probably allergies." Andie shrugs.

"You never had allergies before." Charlotte comments.

"I guess I do now." Andie breezes by her parents to walk up the steps.

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "You don't believe for a minute Andie suddenly developed allergies, do you?"

"No." Cooper shakes his head. "I'm sure it has to do with Nicky."

"Should we talk to her?" Charlotte asks.

"Let her come to us." Cooper tells Charlotte. "She's a lot like you. She won't talk to us if we pressure her. She'll come around if we don't push."

Charlotte smirks. "Is that the same philosophy you used on me?"

"It was the only thing that worked with you." Cooper nods. "If I pushed you to talk, we would end up in a fight. If I didn't pressure you, eventually, you'd open up and be putty in my hands."

"I remember." Charlotte nods. "I'm glad those days are over."

Cooper nods in agreement. "But it looks like those days are just starting for Andie."

"If only she knew it's better to talk than to keep things to herself." Charlotte sighs.

Cooper shakes his head. "Some people need to learn the hard way, like you did."

"She _is_ a lot like me." Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Boy, is that girl in for trouble. What do you think could have happened with Nicky?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Honestly, I knew this day was coming sooner or later." Cooper boasts.

"Why?" Charlotte asks.

"Nicky's the lead singer and guitar player in a popular band. You've seen how the girls scream for him when he's up on stage. It was just a matter of time before he cheated on Andie."

Charlotte furrows her brow. "You think Nicky cheated on Andie?"

"Andie's got thick skin, like you." Cooper points out. " Nicky had to do _something sinsiter_ to her to get through that skin and make her cry."

Charlotte looks up the stairs. "Poor baby. I'm going up there."

"Good luck. She's not going to tell you anything!" Cooper calls after Charlotte as she makes her way up the steps to Andie's room.

Charlotte knocks on the door. "Can I come in, Sweet Pea?"

Andie sniffles back her tears. "It's not a good time, momma. I'm studying." Andie lies.

"Please, Sweet Pea. Let me in?"

Andie wipes her tears and gets out of bed. She opens the door. "Fine. What do you want?"

Charlotte grabs Andie in for a hug. Andie's first instinct is to push her momma away but she doesn't. She really could use a hug right now so she lets her momma hug her. She even hugs her momma back before the tears start streaming down her cheeks like a waterfall. After thirty more seconds of hugging Charlotte walks Andie to the bed and sits her down. Charlotte sits next to a tearful Andie still holding her hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Andie sniffles and wipes her tears away. "Not really, momma."

"Okay." Charlotte nods. "I understand." Charlotte wishes she could make her daughter talk but she knows she can't. Andie's just as stubborn as she was years ago when it came to talkin' and expressin'. All she can do is hug her again and let her know how she feels, "I love you more than anything, Sweet Pea." Talkin' and expressin' has come somewhat easier for Charlotte over the years since she's been married and became a momma.

"I know you love me, momma." Andie wipes more tears away.

"Did you have a fight with Nicky?" Charlotte asks her daughter, still clutching onto her hand.

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it." Andie takes a deep breath. She doesn't dare tell her mother about her fight with Nicky.

"You're a beautiful girl, Sweet Pea. There are a lot of fish in the sea."

"I know, momma." Andie sniffles back her tears.

"It's part of growing up, Sweet Pea. Losing your first love is always the hardest. We all go through it. I did." Charlotte offers a gentle smile. "It gets easier. I promise." Charlotte squeezes Andie's hand.

"Thanks, momma." Andie fakes a small smile. She wonders what her momma would say if she knew what the real issue was.

Charlotte rises to her feet and kisses Andie on the top of her head. "If you wanna talk. I'm here."

"Okay, momma."

"And if you don't wanna talk to me your father is a real good listener. Trust me, I know." Charlotte tells her daughter as she walks out the door.

"Okay." Andie calls after her but she doesn't dare tell her dad, Cooper, what's wrong. He's liable to have another heart attack. She can't be responsible for that again. She lies on the bed staring at the ceiling thinking about what to do next. She thinks about calling Danielle. Danielle's a smart girl and her voice is comforting. She decides to call Danielle for advice. Having an abortion will destroy her but she knows she'll lose Nicky if she doesn't have one. She picks up the phone and gets Danielle's voicemail.

Andie leaves a message. "_It's me. Call me back. I need to ask you something really important. Don't forget. Bye." _Andie picks up her history book to study. History's not her favorite subject but she needs the distraction to forget about her problem for a little while.

* * *

><p><em>AN: What do you think Danielle will advise Andie to do? Find out in the next chapter! =)_

_**REVIEW!**_


	86. Chapter 86

_**CHAPTER 86**_

* * *

><p>The next morning, Drew wakes up screaming in his bed. Charlotte and Cooper hurry into the room of their youngest son. "What's all the noise about,Squirt?" Charlotte sits down next to him on his bed.<p>

Drew cries. "I can't feel my feet, momma."

"What?" Cooper scrunches up his face, concerned.

Drew calms down a bit now that his parents are here. "I wanted to get out of bed to use the bathroom but my feet wouldn't go so I hit them with my hand but I couldn't feel it."

"How about now?" Cooper pokes Drew's foot with his finger. "Can you feel that?"

"No." Drew shakes his head. "What's wrong with my feet, daddy?" Drew panics. "Why can't I move my feet?"

Charlotte shares a worried glance with Cooper. She massages Drew's right foot. "Can you feel my hand on your foot?"

"No, momma." Drew starts to cry tears now. "What's wrong with my feet?"

Charlotte answers. "We're going to have to take you to St. Ambrose to run some tests."

"Let's get you dressed." Cooper taps Drew's little nose. "We'll take you to the hospital now."

"But you and momma are doctors. How come you don't know what's wrong?"

"I didn't say I don't know. I have an idea but we have to do some tests to make sure." Cooper pulls out some clothes to change Drew into.

Charlotte gets up. "I'm going to change quick and then we'll take Drew to the hospital together." Charlotte leaves Cooper to dress Drew. She walks into the hall. Andie's waiting outside the door with Noah and Chase.

"What's going on with Squirt?" Andie asks.

"He can't feel his feet."

"Why?" Noah asks.

"Could be a few different things but I'm thinkin' he has Guillain-Barre."

"What's that?" Chase asks.

"An autoimmune disorder. You can get it after an illness. Drew had a bad case of the flu last month."

"What does it have to do with him having the flu?" Noah asks.

Charlotte tries to explain it simply so the kids can understand. "His immune system fought off the flu. The flu is gone but his immune system is still fighting. Now it's fighting his nervous system."

"Sort of like his immune system is in overdrive and can't shut off?" Chase asks.

"Right!" Charlotte nods. "And right now it's going after his nervous system."

"Can it fight with his other systems too?" Andie asks.

"It can." Charlotte answers. "But so far it just seems to be his nervous system."

"Can you treat it with medicine?" Chase asks.

"There are medications but we have to take him to the hospital to make sure I'm right about the diagnosis first. Excuse me, I've gotta go get ready."

"Should we come?" Chase asks.

"No. Your father and I will be with him. You guys get ready for school."

The three older Freedman children go back to their rooms. Andie opens her laptop to look up abortion clinics. Just as the first site comes up her phone rings.

"Hey bff." Danielle's voice is clear. "I got your message. How are you_?"_

"Pregnant." Andie shoots.

"You're kidding?"

Andie sighs. "I wish I was. Do you have time to talk?"

"I'm between classes. I have a few minutes. Talk to me, girl."

"Nicky wants me to have an abortion. He gave me five hundred dollars for it."

"Is that what you want to do?"

"Not really but Nicky thinks if I'm not willing to have an abortion I must want to be pregnant. He accused me of getting pregnant on purpose."

"That's absurd. Are you going to do it?"

"I was just looking up abortion clinics on the internet but I wanted to see what you thought first."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Andie. You have to be comfortable living with the decision, not me, but I will tell you to wait a week before you decide."

"Really?"

"How far along are you?" Danielle asks.

"I'm almost three weeks late so according to the internet it would make me almost seven weeks pregnant. They start counting from your last period."

"Okay, so you have time. Wait another week and really think about it before you do anything. My mother always tells me not to make any important decisions under pressure. "

"I told Nicky I wasn't going to talk to him again if he pressured me into having an abortion." Andie tells Danielle.

"Don't tell Nicky you're waiting a week. Let him think you had it done so he doesn't pressure you."

"I don't want to lie to him." Andie sighs.

"I'm not telling you to lie to him. Avoid him this week until you make your decision."

"He'll think I had it done then because I told him I would never speak to him again if I did."

"You need to really think this through, Andie. It's probably the most important decision you'll ever make in your life. You shouldn't rush into it because Nicky's pressuring you."

Andie sighs. "I'm glad I called you. I didn't feel right calling to make the abortion appointment. This is better." Andie lies back down on her bed with the phone.

Danielle explains. "This way when and if you do call for the appointment you'll be confident you thought about it and it's want you want to do, not what Nicky wants you to do."

"I don't think I could look at him again if he forced me into doing something like this."

Danielle sighs. "Nicky just wants it to go away."

Andie answers. "I guess I should want that too but it's Nicky's baby. We want to get married someday. How could I abort our first baby?"

Danielle offers support "Wait another week and if you still feel this way, your decision should be easy but really think about it. A baby is forever. Think about how much work a baby is. Your life will never be the same again."

Andie sighs. "I know. I'll weigh out both sides."

"How's everything else going?" Danielle asks.

"Not good. My parents are taking Drew to the hospital. He says he can't feel his feet."

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good."

"I know, so, I especially can't have my parents find out I'm pregnant. They don't need anything else to stress over."

"Try to take it easy Andie. Call me if you need to bounce ideas around. I'm adopted remember. That's always an option too."

"I know." Andie nods. "That's probably what my dad would say to do if I told him, since he's adopted, but I kinda feel like I want to keep this baby."

"Why?" Danielle's surprised.

"Cuz even though Nicky's being a jerk I still love him and this is his baby. If I decide to have it, I'm keeping it."

"You didn't do it on purpose, did you Andie?" Now Danielle's starting to sound like Nicky. "Cuz it kinda sounds like you _want_ this baby."

"I didn't do it on purpose but I took the risk knowing there was a chance it could happen. Maybe Nicky's right and that's why I didn't tell him I was off the pill because subconsciously I didn't mind the idea that much." Andie goes on. "But then when I was late, it was real and scary and I wish I never took the risk but it's too late to go back to that night."

"It sounds like you're psychoanalyzing yourself." Danielle chuckles.

Andie sighs and flops back on the bed. "I don't know what I want."

"Well, take a full week to decide and call me everyday. I want to talk to you every day this week. Do you hear me, girl?"

"Yes, ma'am." Andie chuckles at her friend.

Danielle smiles on the other end. At least she got Andie to laugh. She's sure Andie's not going to be doing a lot of that over the next week. "I better get to class. I'll call you tonight."

"Bye." Andie hangs up the phone and starts to get ready for school. Believe it or not she's feeling a little better now that she doesn't have to make a decision today or tomorrow or even the next day. She promised Danielle she'd wait a full week to decide and she intends too.

* * *

><p>After examining Drew, Amelia talks to Charlotte and Cooper outside his hospital room. "Are you thinking it's Guillain-Barre?" Charlotte asks.<p>

"Has Drew been sick lately?" Amelia asks.

"He had a bad case of the flu last month." Charlotte tells her.

"Let's do a spinal tap and a blood panel on him. I also want to do an MRI. Your little guy's going to be busy with tests all day." Amelia tells them. "You better get some coffee. It's going to be a long day."

Charlotte tells Cooper. "You go get the coffee. I don't want to leave Drew alone." Charlotte walks back in Drew's room. She snuggles up next to him in bed careful not to let him know she's just as scared as he is.

"Am I going to be okay, momma?"

Charlotte taps Drew's nose. "Of course you are, Drew."

"When will my feet be better?"

"Well," Charlotte sighs. "We need to get the test results back so we know what medicine is best. Once we find the right medicine. You'll be good as new."

"I'm lucky my momma is a doctor."

"Why's that?" Charlotte asks with a smile.

"Because I know you'll make me better. You're the boss of this hospital. I have the best momma in the world." Drew hugs his momma.

Charlotte hugs him back. She hopes she can make him better like she said.

* * *

><p>Chase walks into the high school cafeteria. He scans the room for Tess before sitting down. "Chase." A female voice calls out. Chase turns around to see Haili approaching him. "Mind if I sit with you? I have a few questions to run by you before the math test."<p>

"Uh..Sure." Chase can't say no since Haili's parents are paying him to tutor her.

"Good." Haili makes herself comfortable in the seat next to Chase. She opens her lunch box. "Want a cannoli? My mom bought them fresh from the bakery."

"Sure." Chase nods and takes the cannoli. "My weakness is my sweet tooth."

"Good to know." Haili giggles. "Where's your girlfriend today?"

"She should be coming in the cafeteria any minute." Chase answers.

"There she is." Haili points to Tess walking in with a guy. "She's with Logan Petersen."

"Who's Logan Petersen?" Chase asks Haili.

"Everyone knows Logan." Haili scoffs. "He plays quarterback for the varsity football team."

Chase grimaces. "I can't believe Tess is hanging out with a football player. I got in a fight with two of them last year."

"I heard about that." Haili nods, while swallowing her canolli. "But that was Spencer and Will you were fighting. Those guys are ass wipes. Logan's cool."

"You know Logan well?" Chase asks.

"Yeah. He lives on my street. He's a good guy, nothing like Spencer."

"That's good."

"Aren't you going to say hi to your girlfriend?" Haili bites into her sandwich.

"Tess isn't talking to me today."

"Why not?" Haili asks.

"I rather not say."

"Is it because you danced with me at the birthday party? Is that why you left early?" Haili asks. "Because Tess was mad?"

Chase shakes his head. "I don't want to talk about it. What questions did you have about the math test?"

Haili pulls out her book while looking across the cafeteria at Tess and Logan. "Jeepers, I didn't know Tess was such a bitch."

"Please don't call my girlfriend a bitch. You don't know her like I do."

"I don't need to. I could tell she's a bitch by the way she's snubbing you and sitting with Logan."

"Do you want me to help you with your math or what?" Chase gives Haili a warning look.

"Here ya' go." Haili points out the problems she needs help with. "Let's talk math." She smiles at Chase.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW PLEASE<strong>_


	87. Chapter 87

_**CHAPTER 87**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte's asleep in Drew's hospital bed. The six year old blonde boy's curled up against his momma sleeping. Cooper's asleep in the bedside chair. Amelia enters the room. She clears her throat three times, each time a little louder until she wakes Charlotte. Charlotte stretches and yawns. "Coop, wake up." She reaches over and jostles his shoulder. Cooper startles awake. "What time is it?" He asks in a sleepy voice.<p>

"Eight am." Amelia responds.

"I can't believe we slept this late." Charlotte stretches again.

"It's understandable, you had a late night with all the tests we did and no alarm clock." Amelia goes on.

Cooper interrupts. "So, is it Guillain-Barre?"

Amelia nods. "Yes, I want to examine Drew and see how he's doing."

Charlotte gently rubs Drew's head. "Ya gotta wake up, Squirt." She rubs his head until he opens his eyes.

"Hi, momma."

"Hi, Squirt, Dr. Amelia needs to examine you."

"OK." Drew sits up. He lets Amelia listen to his lungs and look in his eyes with her pen light. "Do your feet still feel numb Drew?" Amelia asks.

"Aha" Drew answers. "And my knees feel weird."

Amelia looks at him. "Define weird, do they hurt or feel tingly." Amelia asks.

"They feel tingly." Drew answers. "It's like pins and needles like when you sit on your foot too long at reading time and it falls asleep."

"I gotcha kid." Amelia looks at Charlotte and Cooper. "It's ascending. I'm going to have to start him on IVIG as soon as possible."

Charlotte nods. "Okay, let's do it now."

"He's going to need a separate IV line for that." Amelia tells Charlotte.

"No more needles!" Drew yells at them. "No more needles."

"You need it, Squirt, so you can get better." Charlotte rubs his head.

"No!" Drew yells. "I had too many needles already! I had a big one in my back and five pokes in my arms. I'm not taking anymore. I'll call the police on you if you try to stick a needle in me!"

"We're trying to help you Drew," Amelia says.

"I let you stick me already. I'm done! No more needles. I'm calling the police and you're going to jail!" Drew yells at Amelia.

"Let me talk to him a minute." Cooper tells Amelia. "Can you wait outside? Just give me a few minutes."

Amelia nods. "Okay. I'll get everything ready for the IVIG infusion." Amelia leaves the room. Charlotte pads into the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth.

Cooper sits next to Drew on the bed.

Drew sits on his hands. "No more needles or you're in trouble." Drew pouts and tells Cooper.

"Let me explain something to you Drew. Can I do that? Can we just talk?" Cooper asks softly.

"No more needles." Drew warns him in a calmer tone.

"Remember when you were sick last month with the flu?" Cooper asks.

"Yes." Drew nods his head.

"You know that germs make us sick, right?"

"Yeah." Drew nods. "Everyone knows that."

"Well your body has something called the immune system that attacks the germs so they can't make you sick, sort of like an army." Cooper explains.

"Did my immune army attack the germs?" Drew asks.

"Yes, your immune army did a great job of attacking the germs but they enjoyed the battle so much they didn't go away and they started attacking the good guy."

"Who's the good guy?" Drew asks.

"It this case, it's your nervous system. Your nervous system is what makes you feel things like the difference between hot and cold. It also helps you move your muscles. Your nervous system is under attack right now by your immune army. That's why you can't feel or move your feet." Cooper explains. "Now the attack is moving up your body to your knees. We need to stop the attack, Squirt."

"How?"

"That medicine Dr. Amelia was talking about, it will fight off your immune army so it can't do anymore harm."

"Like the Navy Seals?" Drew asks.

"Yes, it's like we're calling in the Navy Seals to fight the immune army."

"Awesome." Drew says.

"But we have to get those Navy Seals right into the middle of the battle fast and the best way to do it is by an IV. I know it hurts but you have to be tough like the Navy Seals if we're going to win."

"K." Drew nods. "I want the Navy Seals to win."

"Good." Cooper hand slaps Drew.

* * *

><p>Chase is at his locker at school. "Hi Tess," he says as she walks by. She ignores him. Chase follows her. "Are you really going to be like this? After everything we've been through together this is how you want it to end?"<p>

"You did this, Chase."

"How?" Chase shrugs up his arms.

"By ditching me on the dance floor to dance with your little friend."

"Why are you so insecure?" Chase asks.

"Because my boyfriend likes to dance with other girls and I'm not into that."

"Are we breaking up?" Chase asks.

"Looks that way." Tess walks into her classroom.

Chase shakes his head and walks away. "Hey Chase, Wait up!" Haili calls out. "Can you come to my house to tutor me after school today?"

Chase thinks about it a few seconds. "Sure, why not?" He shrugs as he walks away.

* * *

><p>Andie skips out of high school to meet with Tyler at UCLA.<p>

"What was so important for you to skip school?" Tyler asks.

"I broke up with Nicky."

"Why?"

"I'm going to tell you something that only Danielle and Nicky know about me. You have to swear to me that you won't tell a soul."

Tyler holds up his right hand as if he's in court. "I swear I won't tell a soul."

Andie takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I'm pregnant. Nicky wants me to have an abortion. I didn't want to have one so we broke up."

Tylers' eyes go big while his jaw drops open. "Oh my God," he says finally.

"Can you not say that? Can you not stare at me like that?" Andie begs him.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Tyler scratches his head. "I'm a little shocked. I thought you guys were using the pill or something?"

"We were but I left it home when we were at the safe house. Nicky's mad because we had sex and he didn't know I was off the pill, only I knew. He called me a dumb kid for risking it. He accused me of doing it on purpose when I said I wanted to keep the baby. He doesn't get it. He just see's it as a burden to his life."

"Can I ask you something?" Tyler asks.

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell Nicky you were off the pill?"

"I figured he wouldn't want to have sex if he knew but it was New Years Eve. I wanted to celebrate."

"So, _you_ took the risk without letting him decide if he wanted to take the risk?" Tyler asks.

Andie throws her arms up in the air. "Great! You're on his side."

"I'm not on his side." Tyler tells her. "I don't even like Nicky but I get why he's mad. You didn't give him the chance to decide if he wanted to risk it and now he's going to be a father. That's life changing, Andie. You have to see that."

"This baby doesn't have to be a bad thing. I'm not due until the fall. I'll be eighteen by then. I'll be an adult." Andie tells him.

"So, you've decided to keep it and raise it on your own?" Tyler scratches his head.

"Danielle told me to wait a week before making a decision because it's probably the biggest decision I'll ever have to make. I thought a lot about it and for me abortion is out of the question. At least for today."

Tyler nods. "Danielle's right. Don't jump into a decision or let Nicky force you into having an abortion if you're not sure about it."

"I'm hoping Nicky will change his mind about the baby too." Andie tells Tyler.

"What makes you think that?"

"He was in shock... He was mad that I decided to have sex knowing I wasn't taking the pill and I didn't tell him. I know Nicky. He just needs time to calm down."

"Maybe." Tyler shrugs.

"I know Nicky will regret it one day too if I had an abortion. I'm doing what's best for all of us."

"I guess anything's possible." Tyler shrugs.

"But for now I'm doing this on my own. I'm not speaking to Nicky this week so he can't bother me about having an abortion."

"Okay, I'm here to help you. What do you want me to do?"

"Just be my friend. Nicky's mad at me, Danielle's on the other side of the country. I'm all alone."

"No chance in telling your parents that you're pregnant?"

"Are you kidding? My little brother's in the hospital. " Andie scoffs. "My dad will have a heart attack if I tell them now."

"Okay, I'm here for you." Tyler hugs Andie.

* * *

><p>Noah and Marley meet up with Dylan and Lila at the skate park. It's fairly empty on this cloudy afternoon.<p>

"Nice board." Dylan calls out to Noah.

"Yeah, I got it for Christmas." Noah calls back to him.

"What can you do with it?" Dylan asks.

"He's gotten real good with his Nollie flips on this board." Marley boasts. "Show him, Noah!"

"Noah places his feet on the board and shows off his latest trick."

"Narley!" Lila claps. "Do it again!"

Noah reapeats the trick.

"That's effin' amazing, dude." Dylan tells Noah. "But can you do this?" Dylan gets on his own board and does a kickback flip under, an advanced skater's trick.

"Cool! Show me how you did that, dude!." Noah watches Dylan do the trick again. After Dylan completes the trick Noah tries to do it on his board. Dylan coaches him.

"Focus on your back foot." Dylan tells Noah. "Pull it away from the board." He watches Noah. "No, not like that Dude!" Dylan calls out to Noah. "Shit! You're going to hook the boards' nose into your balls like that." Just then Noah falls to the ground holding his crotch.

"My balls!" Noah cries out in pain. He rolls on the ground holding his crotch.

Dylan laughs. "I told you to pull away from the board or you'd hook your balls."

"Did that ever happen to you?" Marley asks Dylan.

"Oh yeah! It hurts like hell when it happens." Dylan chuckles, watching Noah roll on the ground.

"Here! Give him this." Lila pulls a joint out of her pocket. "It'll help ease the pain."

"I don't know." Marley wrinkles her brow.

"Take it." Lila hands Marley the joint. "Put him out of his misery."

Marely looks at Noah and lights the joint. She kneels down on the ground next to him. "Here take a puff. It'll help with the pain."

Noah's in too much agony to argue. "He takes a drag and then another and another until he's feeling fine."

"Feeling better?" Marley asks.

Noah lies back now on the grass. "Wow! Look at the sky. It's bluer than I've ever seen it before."

Marely puffs on the joint and lies next to Noah. "Look at the clouds. They look like puffs of cotton candy animal crackers floating by in the big blue sky."

"Ha ha," Noah chuckles. "You made a rhyme. '_Floating by in the big blue sky.' "_

Marley giggles. "I didn't mean to. I should smoke weed in launguage arts class and see what other rhymes I could come up with."

"Mrs. Willliam's is such a ditz, she'd never know you were high." Noah chuckles, watching the clouds drift by.

Lila and Dylan join them now. They all lie on their backs in the grass. They pass the joint around while they look at the sky. "That cloud looks like a dolphin." Lila puffs on her joint and points.

"Which one?" Dylan asks. "I think it looks like Casper."

"Yeah!" Marley laughs loudly. "It's Casper the Friendly Ghost!"

"Casper, my man!" Noah yells out to the sky. "Come play with us!"

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Lila asks, staring up at the sky.

"I believe in Casper." Marley yells out. "Casper! We love you, Casper! You're such a friendly little ghost!"

"Casper! Casper! Casper!" The foursome chant while they pass the joint around.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW PLEASE!<strong>_


	88. Chapter 88

_**CHAPTER 88**_

* * *

><p>Amelia's at the nurses station reviewing Drew's chart. Cole stops by to inform her he signed the divorce papers. "I'm officially a single man again."<p>

Amelia looks up from her chart, grinning.

"I'm looking for a sexy neurosurgeon to celebrate with." He raises his eyebrows up and down. It's a good thing the nurses are doing their med rounds, Amelia thinks when she feels his hand on her backside.

"Not now." Amelia looks up at him. Cole feigns a frown. Amelia explains. "Drew Freedman's in the pediatric intensive care unit. He's got Guillain-Barre."

"How bad?" Cole asks.

"He started with numb feet and now he can't feel his knees." Amelia sighs.

"That's scary."

"Yeah, I have to stick around to monitor him."

"How's Charlotte handling it?"

Amelia thinks before speaking. "Charlotte's scared but she doesn't dare let anyone know it."

Cole nods. "I hate to see Charlotte have to go through that. I know what it's like to have a sick kid."

"It's the worst feeling in the world." Amelia puts the chart down. "Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

"Who's that?" Cole asks.

Amelia thinks and smiles. "Right now I don't think I have one."

Cole chuckles. "Couldn't imagine a sweet thing like you havin' any enemies."

Amelia twists her pen between her fingers. "Don't you have some pharmacy business to attend to?"

Cole nods. "Actually, I do."

"Then stop flirting with me and get to it, Cowboy."

"Yes ma'am." Cole smiles pretending to tip his imaginary cowboy hat. "If you need a break you know where to find me." Cole winks at Amelia before heading back to the pharmacy.

Amelia watches him walk away. "Back to work." She says to herself before knocking and entering Drew's hospital room. Charlotte's lying next to Drew in his bed while Cooper catches a nap in the chair at Drew's bedside.

"How ya doing, buddy?" Amelia asks Drew while tapping his knees with a metal instrument. "Can you feel me tapping on your knee?"

Drew shakes his head no. Amelia moves the instrument above his knee now. "Can you feel this?"

"I already told you... no." Drew answers a little annoyed. He's getting cranky from all the poking and prodding.

Amelia moves the instrument up to Drew's thigh. "How about now?"

"No. Please go away." Drew tells her. Charlotte's watching, wearing a horrified expression.

Amelia moves the instrument to just below Drew's belly button. "That feels cold." He tells Amelia. "Get it off me."

She takes away the instrument and feels around his belly. "Can you feel my hand?"

"Of course, it's my legs that are sick not my belly." Drew answers in a cranky voice.

"Can I talk to you in the hall?" Amelia asks Charlotte.

"Course." Charlotte stands up. She nudges Cooper's shoulder with her hand until he opens his eyes. "C'mon," she tells him. "Amelia needs to speak to us."

Cooper takes a moment to orient himself to time and place. He looks over at Drew in the hospital bed and remembers why he's there. He gets that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach again. He gets up and follows Charlotte into the hall.

Amelia gives it to them straight. "Drew's getting worse. The Guillain-Barre has ascended up to his waist."

"What?" Cooper rubs his head. He was asleep while Amelia did her exam. "The IVIG should be working by now."

"It should, it will. Sometimes it takes more time to work." Amelia answers.

"Drew doesn't have time." Charlotte shoots. "It could move up to his chest by tonight. It'll paralyze his diaphragm. He won't be able to breathe."

"That's why I want to intubate him now. This way if the Guillain-Barre does move up to his chest muscles he'll be hooked up to a ventilator which will breathe for him."

"My son." Cooper cries, turning to hug Charlotte. Cooper sobs while Charloote holds him in a hug.

"He's going to be alright, Coop." Charlotte consoles him. "Our baby is going to be just fine. You need to have some faith."

Cooper continues to sob.

Amelia tells him. "We're going to fight this Cooper. I'm going to give Drew high dose steroids to decrease the inflammation."

"And if that doesn't work?" Cooper asks.

"It'll work. I've done this before. Drew's in the best hands." Amelia prays that she's right.

"Let's get it started then." Charlotte suggests. "The sooner the better."

"I'll get it ready now." Amelia answers.

Charlotte turns to Cooper. "You need to pull yourself together, Coop. You can't let Drew see you this upset."

"I know." Cooper runs his hand across his face, trying to get it together.

"Why don't you two take a break? Go get some coffee together." Amelia suggests.

"We're not leaving him." Cooper rubs his hand over his nose.

Charlotte sighs. "I'm going to the chapel, say a quick prayer and then I'll stop by the cafeteria to pick us both up some coffee." Charlotte gives Cooper a quick kiss on the cheek. "I won't be gone more than fifteen minutes."

"Okay." Cooper agrees.

Andie and Chase walk out of the waiting room and approach Cooper and Amelia. "How's Drew doing?" Andie asks. "Can we see him?"

"You can't go in the room right now." Amelia tells them. "We need to give Drew some medication and prepare to sedate him."

"Sedate him for what?" Andie asks, looking at Cooper. She can tell her dad's been crying.

Amelia answers, soflty. "I'm going to be intubating your brother as soon as your mother gets back."

"Why?" Chase's jaw nearly hits the floor.

"Intubate?" Andie asks. "Isn't that when you put someone on a mechanical ventilator to breathe for them?"

"Yes." Amelia nods.

"Why can't Drew breathe?" Andie asks with tears in her eyes.

"He can breathe but the paralysis is moving up his body. We want to be ready for it if it does reach his lungs." Amelia explains.

"But it hasn't yet?" Chase wipes his eye.

"No. He's still breathing on his own." Amelia nods.

"Is it possible it could stop now and not reach his lungs?" Andie asks, tears streaming down her face.

"Yes." Amelia answers. "But we need to be ready in case it does. If you'll excuse me I have to go get ready for the procedure."

Andie latches onto Cooper, hugging him tight. Her shoulders shake as she sobs against him. "I'm scared, daddy."

Cooper rubs her back trying to console her. He feels the tears come to his eyes again but forces them back. He needs to stay strong for his children. If they see him cry for Drew, they'll really loose it.

Cooper notices Chase squatted down on the floor against the wall with his head in his hands. "Come on." Cooper tells Andie and Chase "Let's go to the waiting room so we can talk."

They walk into the waiting room and sit down. They're the only family in the room. You could hear a pin drop. Cooper gets his emotions together before telling them. "Drew's going to be okay."

"How do you know, daddy?" Andie asks.

"I know, pumpkin. I'm a doctor and his father."

"But Amelia made it sound like he could stop breathing." Andie tells him.

"Amelia's putting Drew on the vent as a precaution in case that it does happen. It'll give the meds more time to work. This is a good thing."

"It is?" Chase asks, wanting to believe him.

"Yes. Now tell me about your day?" Cooper tries to change the mood in the room. "How's Tess?"

"Uhm.." Chase tries to refocus his mind. "She's still mad at me for dancing with Haili at the party last week."

"That's not cool." Cooper tells him.

"What? Me dancing with Haili or Tess being mad about it?" Chase asks.

"Tess shouldn't be mad." Cooper tells Chase. "I want you to start seeing other girls. It's not good to tie yourself into a serious relationship at your age." Cooper continues to rant to Chase. "I'll take your car away if you don't listen to me."

"Dad?" Andie looks at Cooper. "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

"No. I don't." Cooper tells Andie. "And you're another one. You shouldn't be tied down to Nicky."

"I'm not anymore. Nicky and I broke up."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" Cooper leans in to ask. He remembers the night she came home crying. Maybe he can get her to talk about it now.

"We had a disagreement that neither one was able to compromise over." Andie tells Cooper.

"So you butted heads?" Cooper nods. "That's okay, Andie. There are other fish in the sea."

"I'm okay, dad. I'm the one that left Nicky, not the other way around."

Cooper nods "Good, good, glad to hear it."

Andie furrows her brow. "You don't need to be that happy about it."

Cooper looks at her. "I didn't mean to come off cold-hearted." Cooper didn't. He's usually a better listener but he's distracted. His thoughts are about Drew right now and what's going on in that room. "Do you guys mind if I go check on Drew for a minute?"

"Go ahead, dad." Chase tells Cooper. "We'll be okay."

Cooper walks in Drew's room. The nurses are getting Drew ready for the procedure. "Where's momma, daddy?" Drew asks.

"She went to get coffee. She'll be right back."

"The nurses made me take some more medicine." Drew complains.

"That's to help the Navy Seals do their job and fight off your immune system." Cooper explains.

"Why haven't they won yet?" Drew asks. His eyelids are starting to get heavy from the sedation.

"They will." Cooper rubs Drew's head. "It takes time to win a battle. They'll win soon."

"Do you promise?" Drew asks, closing his eyes.

"I promise." Cooper tries his hardest to keep his tears from falling.

Charlotte and Amelia walk in the room together. "Are we ready?" Amelia asks the nurses.

"He just closed his eyes." The nurse tells Amelia.

"Good." Amelia nods. "Let's get started."

"Charlotte!" Cooper calls. "Come hold Drew's hand. I can't be in the room for this."

Charlotte puts the coffee down by the window before walking over to Cooper. She grasps onto Drew's hand. Cooper rushes out of the room. Amelia looks at Charlotte. "It's gonna be alright. I'm not going to let anything happen to your baby boy."

"I know." Charlotte's voice is shaky. "I know you won't." Charlotte tightens her jaw muscles and watches Amelia start the procedure.

As Amelia guides the tube down Drew's throat into his trachea, Charlotte squeezes Drew's hand while softly talking to him. "You're gonna be just fine, Drew. You're a King like your momma and her momma and big daddy. You're strong. You can get through this, kid."

Amelia asks while guiding the tube down. "The Kings are a tough bunch, huh?"

"The Kings have faced a lot of uphill battles." Charlotte nods.

"What doesn't kill ya' makes ya' stronger?" Amelia suggests as she checks for placement of the tube.

"Mm...Hm." Charlotte nods, staring at her six year old son, now hooked up to a vent.

"The tube's in place." Amelia announces. "Drew's definitely a King. Which is a good thing because I don't know where his father ran off to." Amelia rolls her eyes.

Charlotte raises an eyebrow at Amelia. "Cooper's sensitive. He's led a sheltered life." She defends.

"Well at least one of Drew's parents was able to stay in the room with him." Amelia's voice is slightly annoyed.

"Cooper would've bucked up and been here if I wasn't." Charlotte defends her husband.

"One would hope." Amelia listens to Drew's lungs to check his breathing on the vent. "Sounds good." Amelia tells the nurse. "Can you find Dr. Freedman and tell him it's safe to come back in the room now."

"Yes. Dr. Sheppard." The nurse looks out in the hall. Cooper's standing against the wall. She calls him in the room.

Cooper slowly enters the room glancing at Drew briefly before looking away. He walks over to the to the window. He picks up his coffee and looks outside. Charlotte notices his shoulders shake.

Charlotte asks Amelia. "Can you give us a minute?"

"Sure. I'll come back to check on Drew in a little while." Amelia walks out the door to give Charlotte and Cooper some privacy.

Charlotte wraps her arms around her husband. Cooper starts sobbing. Charlotte's eyes are filled with tears. "He's going to be okay, Coop. Our baby boy will be okay."

Cooper wipes his face. "You'd never know I was a doctor."

"You're Drew's dad, besides I've seen you get upset over your patients before. It's okay to cry, Cooper. It shows everyone you have a heart." Charlotte grasps his hand. "It doesn't mean you're weak."

"How do you stay so strong?" Cooper sniffles and asks Charlotte.

"Truth is, I'm a mess inside. I just know how to hide it better."

Cooper rubs Charlotte's arm. "It's okay to cry in front of your staff. They'll understand, he's your son."

"I know." Charlotte agrees. "I'm trying to keep it together for Drew, not my staff."

Cooper looks over at Drew on the vent. "It's so hard to look at him. He looks so peaceful, like he's sleeping, but we know he's not. He's heavily sedated so he can be hooked up to that _thing._" Cooper scowls at the vent.

"He's going to be okay, Coop. We have to be strong for all of the kids." Charlotte reminds him.

"I was in the waiting room with Andie and Chase earlier. I managed to keep it together in front of them. They were both pretty upset."

"What did you say to them?" Charlotte asks. "Did you sugar coat it or tell it like it is?"

"I told them he was going to be okay. What else could I do?" Cooper shrugs and wipes his nose. "And then I changed the subject. We started talking about Tess and Nicky to get their minds off of what was happening with Drew."

"Oh God." Charlotte runs her hands through her hair. "I feel awful. I have no idea what's going on in my children's lives. I've been at Drew's bedside for over a week."

"They're okay. You're where you need to be." Cooper pats Charlotte on the shoulder.

"Is Andie okay? The last time I had a chance to sit down and talk to her was after she had that fight with Nicky."

Cooper answers. "She broke up with Nicky but she's handling it well. She's tough like you."

"Good." Charlotte swallows. "What about Chase?"

"Tess isn't talking to Chase so he's a little upset. I told him he should see other people."

"I like Tess." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"If it's meant to be, they'll end up back together." Cooper assures Charlotte. "Just like us."

"How's Noah doing?" Charlotte asks.

"I'll call him later." Cooper takes a sip of his coffee. "He was the only one who didn't come up today."

Charlotte sips her coffee. "I talked to him this mornin' before school. He sounded okay, just worried about Drew."

"We all are." Cooper looks over at Drew now.

"You're a good dad, Coop." Charlotte gives Cooper a little kiss on the cheek.

Cooper looks at her. "You too," he sighs. "I mean you're a good momma, not dad.

"I knew what you meant."Charlotte smiles before she takes Cooper's hand and leads him to Drew's bedside. They sit vigil at Drew's bedside together the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>Amelia knocks on Cole's office door. "Come in."<p>

Amelia plops down in the chair.

"How's Drew doing?" Cole asks.

"I just intubated him."

"I'm sorry. I'll stop by his room to see Charlotte and Cooper."

"Give them some time. They're a mess right now."Amelia rubs her head with her hand. "That's why I came here. I needed a quiet spot to just get away from it all for a little while."

"You can hang here as long as you like. I'm just finishing up some paperwork."

"Life works in funny ways." Amelia talks to Cole as he works.

"Like how?" Cole asks.

"After Dylan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's I kept asking- why me? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to _my_ child?"

Cole corrects." It happened to us. To _our_ child."

Amelia continues. "I would look around at all my friends and their healthy children and think it wasn't fair. Now Dylan's in remission. He's doing great and Drew's worse off than Dylan ever was."

Cole answers. "These things happen for a reason, Amelia."

"What was the reason Dylan got sick?" Amelia asks.

"Dylan's illness brought you and I closer together and I think that's a good thing. Dylan's healthy and we, his parents, are getting along better than we ever did which is good for Dylan."

Amelia nods her head. "Okay, but why is Drew sick?"

"I can't answer that one."

Amelia sighs. "I pray that he'll be okay. I promised Charlotte he would."

"Charlotte's a doctor Amelia. She knows you can't make those kind of promises."

"Charlotte's not a doctor today. Today she's Drew's momma. That's all that is important to her today. I promised Drew's momma I would make him better."

Cole gets up and tells Amelia "Get up."

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to hug you. Both Amelia and Dr. Shepard need a hug today." He smiles, wrapping his arms around her.

Amelia lets her body melt into him.

* * *

><p>Marley knocks on the door to the Freedman house. Noah let's her in. "Hey Marz Barz."<p>

Marley looks around. "It's so quiet here today."

"That's cuz Drew's in the hospital and my parents are there with him. Chase and Andie went up to visit him after school."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Drew's doing real shitty. I don't like to see him like that. It's not my little brother lying in that hospital bed." Noah's eyes tear up.

Marley rubs Noah's arm. "I'm sorry, Noah. Drew will be alright. Your mom's the Chief of Staff. She'll call the best doctors in for him."

Noah sighs. "My momma and the other doctors are human. They can't fix everyone, no matter how hard they try."

"Drew's going to be okay. I know it." Marley tries to be positive for Noah. She decides to change the subject. "So, did anyone notice you came home high from the skate park the other day?"

"Nope. My parents were up at the hospital with Drew."

"Did Andie or Chase notice you were high?"

"Don't think so, if they did, they didn't care. Chase is preoccupied with Tess because she's not talking to him and Andie's preoccupied with something else. I think she broke up with Nicky."

"That's sad. They're such a cute couple." Marley presses her lips into a pout.

"How about you?" Noah asks. "Did anyone notice you came home high from the skate park?"

"Nope." Marley shakes her head. "My mom's preoccupied with work and her boyfriend." Marley shrugs. "And Cole Jr wouldn't say anything even if he did notice."

"Why not?"

"Cole minds his own business, beats to his own drummer, ya know?"

Noah laughs. "Good for him."

"We said we weren't going to smoke anymore." Marley suggests. "We shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, but I was in pain. I needed it."

"Yeah." Marley chuckles remembering Noah lying on the ground screaming and holding his crotch. "You needed a good high."

"I feel like I could use one now." Noah sighs.

"Why? Are you still having pain?"

"No, but I want to forget about what's going on with my family, with my brother. Smoking a joint's the only thing that can help me forget for a while."

Marley pats him sympathetically on the shoulder. "Do you want me to call Lila to see if she has any?"

"Maybe one last time." Noah shrugs.

"Okay, but this is the last time." Marley agrees, taking out her phone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Review<strong>_


	89. Chapter 89

_**CHAPTER 89**_

* * *

><p>It's morning. All the Freedman children are in the pediatric intensive care waiting room. All except little Drew. Charlotte and Cooper gave the kids permission to stay home from school today. Charlotte told Cooper she didn't see how they could focus at school considering their little brother is hooked up to a ventilator.<p>

Andie excuses herself to go to the bathroom. It's been her morning ritual to barf up some bile when the clock strikes nine and it's nine am now.

Charlotte and Cooper sit at Drew's bedside. They watch his chest move up and down in synchrony with the vent. Neither one of them slept at all last night. Charlotte notices it first. "Look Cooper!" Her voice has a hint of excitement. "Drew's movin' his foot."

Cooper jumps up to look. "It is. It's definitely moving." Cooper squeezes Charlotte's hand. "We should call Amelia."

"And then I have to call momma." Charlotte smiles when she tells Cooper. "Momma had the whole church prayin' for Drew on Sunday. She'll be more thrilled than a cat with cream to know it worked."

"I'll call Amelia. You call your momma." Cooper's excited.

Within a few minutes, Amelia's in the room. "What's going on?" She notices their bright smiles.

Charlotte answers first. "Drew's movin' his leg. It started with his foot and now he's got the knee bent."

Amelia's relieved. "I told you to give it time. The steroids and immunoglobulins are working."

"I'm so happy. I want to hug you." Cooper hugs Amelia. "Thank you."

Amelia smiles. "Just doing my job."

"When do you think we can extubate him?"

"As long as he keeps showing us progress, we should be able to extubate by tonight."

"Thank God." Cooper looks up at the ceiling.

Charlotte squeezes Drew's hand. "Momma and daddy are here, Squirt. You're gonna be right as rain soon."

Cooper rubs Drew's head. "Just rest today and let the Navy seals do their work. They're almost done fighting off your immune system."

Drew squeezes Charlotte's hand. "He squeezed my hand, Coop. He understood what you said."

Cooper beams. "I'm going to go outside and give the kids the good news."

Cooper saunters into the waiting room. "Good news." He tells them all with a big smile planted across his face. "Drew's making progress. He's able to move his legs. The meds are doing their job."

"Thank God." Andie jumps up to hug. Cooper. Chase and Noah do the same.

"When can we see him?" Noah asks Cooper.

"He's still intubated but Amelia plans on taking him off the vent later today, then you can all go visit him."

"We're going to spoil him rotten." Chase tells Cooper. "I'm going to the video store now."

"Mind if I come with you?" Tess walks up behind Chase, resting her arm on his back.

"What are you doing here?" Chase asks, surprised to see her.

"I heard about Drew and then you weren't at school today. I wanted to make sure Drew was okay and see how _you _were doing."

Chase continues to walk down the hospital corridor with Tess beside him. "Thanks for coming but it wasn't necessary. Drew's doing much better now. You should go back to school."

"I've already missed one class I might as well go shopping with you." Tess tells him.

Chase furrows his brow. "What's up with you? You haven't spoken to me in over a week and now you want to hang out?"

"I was mad about Haili but when I heard about Drew I felt like I needed to be here with you." Tess explains

They continue to walk. Chase talks, "Drew's gonna be okay so you don't need to worry about him or me. Just go back to school."

"Why don't you want me around? Are you seeing Haili now?"

Chase stops to talk now. "I'm not seeing Haili, she's not my type. You should know that."

"You spend a lot of time with her."

"Because I'm tutoring her. I don't want to get into another argument, Tess. My father thinks we should see other people."

"Your father?" Tess asks. "Are you going to listen to him?"

"He threatened to take my car away if I didn't."

Tess stops walking. "I see." Tess thinks a minute. "If you still need to listen to your father then I guess your not the guy I thought you were." Tess turns around and walks out of the hospital in the opposite direction as Chase.

"Tess?" Chase calls out. He leans up against the corridor wall and thinks about what she said.

* * *

><p>Andie's still sitting in the waiting room drinking a bottle of water. Her lips and mouth are dry from vomiting this morning and she has a funny taste in her mouth. She figures she's a tad dehydrated from vomiting again this morning. She takes small sips and concentrates on holding them each down. Nicky's strolls into the waiting room with a box of doughnuts. Andie looks up. "What are you doing here?"<p>

"My sister called and told me about Drew. She said they put him on a vent. I figured you could use some food." He hands her the box of doughnuts.

Noah gets up to look in the box. "I'll have one. I haven't eatin' anything all morning."

"Here take them all." Andie hands Noah the box.

"You came to bring us doughnuts?" Andie scrunches her nose at Nicky. "We can buy them ourselves in the hospital cafeteria."

Nicky sits down next to her. "I also came to offer my support. How's Drew doing?"

"A lot better. My dad says they're taking his tube out later today."

"That's a relief." Nicky rests his hand on Andie's leg. "Drew's a good kid. I'm glad he's going to be okay."

Andie takes another sip of water and scoffs. "I thought you hated little kids?"

Nicky sighs. "I never said I hated little kids. I like kids."

Andie twists the cap back on her water bottle. "Oh right. You just hate babies."

"I don't hate babies either." Nicky sighs heavily.

Andie looks over at Noah who's munching on his doughnut and listening to them. "Let's go outside and talk." Andie rises to her feet and tells Nicky.

"I'm just eating my doughnut. I wasn't listening!" Noah calls out to them as they walk out of the waiting room.

Nicky keeps his hands in his jeans pockets as they walk down the hall corridor in silence. They don't look at each other as they wait for the elevator to reach the lobby and walk outside the hospital.

They find a quiet spot once they're outside. Nicky lights up a cigarette. He starts, "I'm glad Drew's okay. Suzanna told me this all was from that flu that he had before Christmas."

"Yeah. His immune system went into overdrive and damaged his nervous system." Andie explains. "But he's improving."

"Can that happen to you? Didn't you have the flu too?"

Andie watches Nicky puff on his cigarette. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. It was just a fluke thing that happened to Drew."

"Good." Nicky puffs on his cigarette. "It freaked me out when Suzie told me how sick Drew was. He's a cute kid. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to him."

Andie answers, sarcastically. "So, you care about other people's kids, just not your own?"

"I don't have any kids to care about." Nicky puffs on his cigarette.

"You could have." Andie raises her eyebrows and waits for his reaction.

Nicky takes another puff on his cigarette. He thinks a minute before saying. "I want a shit load of kids when I'm ready for them." Nicky explains.

Andie stands quietly listening, she doesn't want to discuss this too much. She watches him and waits. Here it comes.

"How did it go?" He asks, blowing his cigarette smoke in the opposite direction. She knows exactly what he's referring to.

She waits a few seconds before answering. She doesn't want to lie to him so she answers the only way she can. "I don't want to talk about it."

Nicky takes another puff of his cigarette. "I would have went with you. I told you to call me and tell me when you made the appointment."

"I'm not talking about this." Andie's voice is firm. Tears begin to form in her eyes. She didn't lie to him but it feels like she's lying and she doesn't like it.

Nicky looks in her teary eyes. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you. I was in shock." Nicky takes another puff of his cigarette before continuing, "it couldn't have happened at a worse time with my band moving up in the ranks and me going back to school. I really do like babies, Belle." He looks at her as he puffs his cigarette. "I'm not some monster that hates babies."

Andie looks at him with teary eyes. She doesn't know what to say.

"I'm really sorry, Belle." Nicky's voice is soft and genuine. "I wish none of this happened to us."

Andie swings her hair back and looks up at him. "I know." Andie wipes away a tear that leaks out of her eye.

"I'm so sorry." Nicky says again, his own eyes begin to tear a little.

Andie sniffles and looks up at him. "What are you so sorry about? It was my fault. I was the dumb kid who had sex knowing I wasn't taking the pill."

Nicky lifts Andie's chin in his hand. "You're not a dumb kid. I should never had said that. I was shocked and angry. I'm sorry." He says again.

"I deserved it." Andie shrugs and looks away. "I got us into this mess."

Nicky gently turns Andie's face around to look at him again. "I'm sorry I pressured you into the abortion." He says quietly.

Andie's eyes bug open wide. "You are?"

"Yes." Nicky pulls her close and hugs her tight. She's just about to tell him it's okay that she didn't go through with it when he gently rubs her back, telling her. "But I'm not sorry that you had it done. I really think it was for the best. I'm just sorry I forced you. It should have been a mutual decision."

Andie gasps after hearing him say this.

Nicky continues to rub her back. "It's okay, Belle. It was for the best. You're still in high school. Having the abortion was our only option."

Andie changes her demeanor now, pushing him away. "It wasn't our _only _option and I said I didn't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear the word abortion again."

Nicky backs up. "Okay. Okay." He holds his hands up like he's surrendering. "I won't say the word but when are you going to forgive me for pressuring you into it?"

Andie swallows, responding. "I clearly remember telling you that I would never speak to you again if you forced me to have an abortion."

"Please, don't say that, Belle." He moves in to hug her again.

"I have to go." Andie turns and hurries away with more tears billowing in her eyes. She doesn't know how she's even able to make tears, must be the bottled water she just drank.

* * *

><p>Amelia knocks before entering Drew's room. "Good news. The latest tests show the immunogloblins and steroids worked. Drew's t-cell counts and B cell counts are coming back to normal. I'm going to extubate him now."<p>

"Be my guest." Charlotte steps aside to let Amelia do her job. Amelia removes the tape and starts to slowly pull the tube out. Drew coughs and gags until the tube is all the way out.

Charlotte rushes over and grabs his hand. "You're okay, Squirt. I'm here."

Drew looks at her with big hazel eyes.

"Great news, Drew." Cooper tells him. "The navy seals won. You're better."

Drew puts his hands to his throat.

"It's going to be sore for the day." Charlotte tells him. "But that means you can have all the ice pops you want today."

Drew smiles from ear to ear at his momma.

"I'll get some now." Cooper tells Drew. "What flavor? Cherry?" Cooper asks.

Drew shakes his head no.

"Cherry's always been Andie's favorite flavor. You're getting your kids confused." Charlotte tells Cooper.

Cooper winks at Charlotte. "Oh right, Drew's favorite flavor is grape."

Drew shakes his head wildly from side to side.

"Wrong again." Charlotte plays along with Cooper. "Grape is _Noah's_ favorite flavor."

"Orange?" Cooper asks. Drew nods his head up and down with a smile.

"Bingo!" Charlotte smiles to see Drew smiling again.

"Okay. I'll go get a box of orange ice pops." Cooper heads towards the door. "Be back before you could say Rumpelstiltskin."

Drew attempts to say it but his throat is too dry to make a word.

"Told ya." Cooper grins as he walks out the door.

* * *

><p>Andie drives up to UCLA to visit Tyler. He meets her at a student lounge. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Tyler greets Andie with a hug.<p>

"I really need a friend right now." Andie tells him. He notices the tears in her eyes.

"What happened?"

"I saw Nicky today."

"Did you guys have another fight about the baby?"

"It started out okay. He apologized a lot." Andie sniffles as she talks.

"What did he apologize for?"

"For getting so mad at me, for calling me a dumb kid. He even said he was sorry he pressured me into having the abortion."

"That's great." Tyler rubs her back. "Did you tell him you didn't do it?"

Andie sighs. "I was just about to but then he said he didn't regret me having it and that it was our only option."

"What did you say then?"

"I told him it wasn't our only option and that I didn't want to talk about it again."

"So, he thinks you already had the abortion?"

"Yes, and I hate lying to him. I didn't exactly lie to him but he assumes I had the abortion."

Tyler tries to make a joke. "You know what they say about people who _assume_ things?" Tyler smiles.

"It's not funny, Tyler. I'm really upset about this."

"Sorry. I don't know what else to say." Tyler offers Andie his soda. "Want some?"

"Thanks but no thanks, I'll only barf it back up in five minutes." Andie tells him.

"Morning sickness?" Tyler smiles.

"Yeah." Andies nods. "But it's not just in the morning. I feel nauseous almost all day."

"Have you been to the doctor?"

"No."

"You should go get checked out."

"Can you come with me? I don't want to go alone." Andie asks with big blue puppy dog eyes.

Tyler furrows his brow then raises his eyebrows. "They're going to think I'm the father."

Andie elbows Tyler. "What's so wrong with that" Ain't I hot enought to be your baby momma?" She teases.

Tyler laughs and thinks about it. "I guess so." He chuckles. "Tell me when you make an appointment and I'll go with you."

Andie's smile turns back to a frown. That reminds her of what Nicky said about the abortion appointment.

"You okay?" Tyler asks Andie. "You look pale all of a sudden."

Andie rubs her face. "Yeah. I've been feeling tired. I looked it up and fatigue is normal in early pregnancy so I guess I'm okay."

"You should make that appointment soon anyway." Tyler warns her. "You don't look so good."

"Gee, thanks, friend." Andie tries to smile.

"I mean it. You need to take care of yourself. You look like hell." Tyler tells her.

"I feel like hell right now." Andie's eyes open wide and she grabs onto Tyler's shirt, leaning on him. "Something's wrong with me." Her eyes start to roll around before she collapses to the ground.

Tyler watches Andie seize violently on the ground. He looks around. "Call 911!" He shouts.

"Already done, dude." A guy and his girlfriend come to their aid.


	90. Chapter 90

_**CHAPTER 90**_

* * *

><p>Amelia carries a large shoe box into Drew's hospital room. Drew's eyes light up. "What's that?" Drew sucks on an orange ice pop. His momma and daddy are sitting beside him.<p>

Amelia sets the box down in front of him. Drew opens the box to reveal a bunch of colorful construction paper, folded into squares and rectangles with words written on them in crayon and marker.

Drew pulls a purple card out of the box. Red crayon colored balloons adorn the top of the card. He opens it. "Get well soon." It says, "from Max." Drew pulls out an orange card. It has a crayon drawn picture, obviously carefully sketched by a set of small hands. It's a picture of a little blonde boy on a swing next to a little girl with long black hair. He opens it. The card says. "I miss you the mostest.-Love Sara."

"This one's from Sara." Drew holds the card up to show everyone.

"That's you and Sara on the swings. "Amelia tells him.

"I know that." Drew practices his eye roll on Amelia.

"Sara worked very hard on that card for you." Amelia tells him before her beeper goes off. "I've got a patient waiting in the ER." She tells Charlotte and Cooper. "I'll be back up to check on Drew later."

"Go ahead, we're fine." Charlotte looks through the box of cards with Drew.

Amelia rushes down to the ER. "Whatcha' got for me?" She asks a nurse.

"Seventeen year old girl, just came in having a grand mal seizure." A nurse calls out.

"It's Dr. King's daughter." Another nurse tells Amelia. "Alexandria Freedman. She's in room two. Do you want me to page Dr. King?" The nurse asks, picking up a phone.

"Let me check her first, then _I'll_ call Dr. King." Amelia calls back to the nurse.

Amelia rushes into room two. A new ER doctor and a nurse are pushing meds into Andie's IV. Tyler's standing off to the side of the room. "What's going on?" Amelia asks the other doctor.

The new doctor rattles off to Amelia. "Alexandria is a pregnant seventeen year old with a history of epilepsy. She collapsed, having a grand mal seizure on the campus of UCLA. She has a history of excessive vomiting times one week due to morning sickness, according to her friend over there." The doctor gestures to Tyler. Amelia looks at him, surprised about the pregnant part. Charlotte didn't mention that to her.

The doctor continues. "We started an IV to rehydrate her from the dehydration. I administered dilantin through her IV. She probably hasn't been holding down her seizure meds because of the vomiting. We were able to get her seizure under control immediately with the dilantin. She's postictal now." The doctor hands Amelia the chart.

"Okay. I can take it from here." Amelia tells the doctor. After the doctor leaves Amelia asks Tyler, "what's this about Andie being pregnant? I didn't know that." Amelia looks in Andie's eyes with her penlight.

"She is pregnant, but you can't tell anyone. I only told the doctor so he wouldn't give her any drugs that were dangerous for pregnant girls. She wants to keep the baby."

"Are you the father?" Amelia raises an eyebrow asking Tyler.

"No!" Tyler says loud and clear. "Nicky's the father. I'm just a friend. Andie's parents can't know. They're stressed out enough with Drew being sick."

"I won't say anything." Amelia shines a light in Andie's eyes.

"What does postictal mean? That doctor kept saying she was postictal."

"It a physical state patients are in after they have a seizure. Seizures are exhausting. Patients usually will sleep for hours. It's as if they just ran a marathon with the way their muscles move uncontrollably during the seizure."

"I guess that's why she's sleeping so soundly now." Tyler figures.

"She's stabile but she's going to be asleep for a while. You stay with her. I'm going to order an EEG of her brain and an ultrasound of the baby then I'm going to call Charlotte and Cooper to let them know she's here."

"Don't tell them that she's pregnant." Tyler reminds.

"I already said I wouldn't." Amelia leaves the room.

* * *

><p>Charlotte picks up her phone while at Drew's bedside. "Oh my Lord!" Charlotte says into the phone.<p>

"What's wrong?" Cooper asks, after she finishes the call.

"Andie had a seizure. She's in the ER. Amelia says she's stabile but I wanna go see her. You stay with Drew."

Cooper's shaken. "I can't believe this. I just saw her this morning, she was fine."

"She's okay, Coop. She's stabile and postictal. I'll go see her now. You can go when I get back."

"Okay. Hurry back." Cooper gives Charlotte a quick kiss on her head before she leaves. Charlotte rushes down to the ER and into Andie's room. Tyler's sitting at her bedside.

"Tell me what happened, Tyler." Charlotte's out of breath when she speaks. "Amelia said she had a seizure. How bad was it?"

"It was a grand mal. I called an ambulance. They gave her meds to stop the seizure and an IV to rehydrate her."

"She was dehydrated?" Charlotte asks Tyler.

"Crap." Tyler thinks. He thinks of the only thing he can. "Andie's had a stomach virus for over a week. She hasn't been able to hold anything down and she became dehydrated. I guess she couldn't even hold down her seizure medicine the past couple of days."

"I didn't know that." Charlotte takes a deep breath and sighs.

"Andie didn't want to tell you since you're so worried about Drew."

"Poor kid." Charlotte rubs Andie's head.

"The doctor's say she's postictal now."

"That's normal after a seizure. She'll sleep for a while."

"I can stay with her if you want to get back to Drew." Tyler offers. "She's just going to sleep anyway. She won't even know you're here, but Drew will know." Tyler wants to get Charlotte out of the room. He knows Amelia ordered an ultrasound to check on the baby.

Charlotte nods."Thank you. Please call me as soon as she wakes up and I'll come straight back down to see her."

"No problem, Dr. King." Tyler lets out a sigh of relief after she leaves the room.

About two hours later, Andie starts to wake up. The nurse calls Amelia into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Amelia asks Andie.

"Really tired."

"You had a grand mal seizure."

"Oh." Andie looks at her IV.

"Do my parents know I'm here?"

"Your mom was already down to see you." Amelia answers as she examines Andie again. "We told her we would call her as soon as you woke up."

Andie shakes her head. "Don't call her yet. I'm still really tired. I want to sleep a little more."

"That's normal after a seizure. It's also a common symptom during the first trimester of pregnancy and even more so if you suffer from morning sickness."

Andie scowls at Tyler. "You told her?"

"I had to. You wouldn't want them to give you a medicine that was dangerous for the baby would you?" Tyler defends his action.

"Does my mother know?"

"No." Tyler shakes his head. "I tried to get her to leave the room before they come in to do an ultrsound on you."

Andie thinks a few seconds. "Thank you, Tyler." She looks at Amelia now. "Please don't tell my parents."

"I won't but you really should."

"They've been so upset about Drew. I don't want to hit them with this now."

"Drew's improving." Amelia tells Andie, while looking in her eyes.

"I'll tell my parents after Drew comes home from the hospital and they're all settled."

"That's fair." Amelia nods.

Andie asks. "Is the baby okay? Did the seizure harm it?"

"It shouldn't have. You're okay, your brain wasn't deprived of oxygen, so the baby shouldn't have been deprived of it either." Amelia explains.

"The paramedics gave her oxygen as soon as they got there." Tyler tells Amelia.

"That's normal to do with seizure patients."

Andie asks. "What about from my muscles convulsing? Could that hurt the baby?"

"Are you having any cramping or bleeding?" Amelia asks.

"No." Andie shakes her head.

"That's a good sign but I ordered an ultrasound to check the baby's status anyway. The tech should be here with the machine any moment."

Chase comes rushing into Andie's room. He looks at Andie. "Are you okay? Momma told me you were here."

"I'm okay, Chase. I just had a seizure but I'm fine now."

"Thank goodness." Chase rubs his hand over his forehead. "I don't think I can take anymore after what happened to Drew."

The sonogram tech wheels the machine into the room. "Are you Alexandria Freedman?" She asks, while checking Andie's wristband at the same time.

"Yes." Andie nods.

"Just need to make sure I have the right patient." The tech tells her. "I'm here to do your ultrasound."

Chase looks confused about why Andie would need an ultrasound following a seizure but he remains quiet.

The sono tech tells Andie "You need to lift your hospital gown for me. I'm going to rub some gel on your tummy."

Andie quietly lifts her gown, leaving her lower half covered by a sheet and blanket. She's aware that Amelia, Tyler and Chase's eyes are on her.

The tech begins to rub the jelly on Andie's lower abdomen. "How far along are you, dear?"

Andie holds her breath a few seconds. Now Chase knows. She glances quickly up at Chase and answers quietly. "I haven't been to a doctor yet but I think I'm about eight weeks according to the charts on the internet. They start counting from your last period."

"That's right." The sono tech tells her as she warms up the gel.

Chase screws up his face. He looks at his sister and then Tyler and back at his sister again. He scratches his head.

"We should be able to see and hear the heartbeat if you're eight weeks." The sonogram tech rubs the jelly on Andie's abdomen.

Andie, Chase, Tyler and Amelia all watch the screen intently as the sonogram tech moves the wand around. "Here it is." She points. "You're right. You're about eight weeks pregnant. You see that dark spot right there that's pulsating?" The tech asks Andie.

"Yes."

"That's your baby's heart."

Andie gasps when she see's the heart beating. The tech turns up the sound and let's them listen to the heartbeat as well.

"Wow." Chase says as he looks on. "That's freakin' amazing."

The machine makes some beeping sounds while the ultrasound tech continues to move the wand around.

"What are you doing?" Andie asks.

"I'm measuring the baby's heart."

"Is it okay?" Andie worries.

"It's fine, sweetie. I need to measure your uterus and the baby. It's part of a standard prenantal sonogram."

"Oh." Andie watches the screen quietly.

"I'm measuring the spine now. Everything looks good." The tech tells them as she measures.

"The heart's beating awfully fast." Andie comments. "Isn't it too fast?"

"Fetuses have a higher heart rate than us, it's normal, nothing to worry about, dear."

Chase watches the tech measure the the baby. The sound of the baby's heart beat echoes through the room. "That's really amazing." Chase's eyes light up. "I've seen pictures like this in books but to hear the heart beating, that's just amazing." Chase rambles on. "It's so tiny, it doesn't even look like a baby yet, but it has a heartbeat already."

"Are you the father?" The tech asks Chase.

"No." Chase's face turns bright red. "I'm her brother." Chase looks over at Tyler.

"Then you must be the father?" The tech asks Tyler.

"Not me." Tyler holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm just a friend."

"The baby's father isn't here." Andie tells the tech.

"Oh...I only asked because I wanted to know how many sono pictures to print out. I usually print one for the mother and one for the father."

"You can just print out one for me." Andie tells the tech.

"Okay then." The tech answers. The tech finishes up. She wipes the gel off Andie's belly.

"Thank you." Andie says politely as the tech hands her the ultrasound photo of her baby.

"Okay," Amelia tells Andie after the tech leaves. "The baby appears to be fine but you're going to need prenatal care."

"But I don't want my parents to know yet." Andie looks at Chase. Chase gets the hint not to say anything to Charlotte and Cooper.

Amelia writes something down. "Here's the number of a free parenting clinic near the hospital. I highly recommend this place."

"Thank you." Andie takes the card from Amelia.

""I'm going to keep you in the hospital overnight. We'll keep the IV in to rehydrate you. We'll give you your dilantin in the IV tonight."

"Thanks, Amelia."

"Feel better, Kiddo." Amelia say before leaving the room.

"I can't believe you're pregnant." Chase stares at his sister. "Aren't you on the pill?"

"It's a long story, Chase. I really don't want to get into it now."

"Where's Nicky?" Chase asks.

"We broke up. Why would he be here?"

"He broke up with you because he knocked you up?" Chase says, sarcastically. "What an upstanding dude he turned out to be."

"No. I broke up with him because he was demanding me to get an abortion."

"That's just as bad." Chase looks at the sono picture.

"Long story short, Chase. I stopped taking the pill. I didn't tell Nicky I wasn't taking it. We had sex, I got pregnant and he's mad."

"Why did you stop taking the pill and still have sex?" Chase asks. "Were you trying to get pregnant?"

"No." Andie scoffs. "I didn't have the pill with me at the safe house."

"Why didn't you just tell Nicky you didn't have your pill?"

"I made a mistake. Kill me, okay. I'm human."

"Sorry." Chase says. Tyler looks on. He's been through all this with Andie before.

"Just please don't tell momma and daddy."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not going to be the one to give them the news." Chase smirks.

Andie sighs. "Daddy's gonna be really pissed at me. He wanted me to break up with Nicky a long time ago. He'll probably want to kill Nicky and it wasn't even Nicky's fault."

"Just tell them the truth." Chase advices his sister. "That you missed taking the pill a few days and didn't tell Nicky."

Andie groans. "Momma's gonna want to kill _me_. She told me to use condoms _with _the pill and I didn't use either. They're gonna hate me." Andie rubs her hand over her head.

"They're not going to hate you." Chase tells Andie. "They'll just have to deal with it."

Charlotte walks briskly into Andie's room now. Andie quickly shoves the sonogram picture behind her back, crinkling it.

"Look who's awake." Charlotte gives Andie a kiss on her head.

"Hi, momma." Andie smiles.

Charlotte plays with a strand of Andie's long red hair. "Hi, Sweet Pea. How are ya' feeling?"

"I'm really tired." Andie looks at her momma.

"Typical after a seizure, you know that."

"I know. I just want to sleep."

"Tyler told me you had a stomach virus and were vomiting all week. I feel terrible, I had no idea." Charlotte looks sympathetically at her daughter. "You should have told me or your father."

"But Drew was so sick. I didn't want to bother you with it."

Charlotte hugs Andie now. "I'm sorry you felt that way. You could never be a bother."

"It's okay, momma. Drew needed you more than me."

"You'll be happy to know, Drew's doing much better. His entire class made him get well cards. Drew put your dad to work hanging them all over his hospital room. That's what your dad's doing now."

Andie chuckles at the thought of Cooper hanging cards from the ceiling, on the window and where ever else Drew wants them.

The nurse comes in. "Hello Dr. King. We have a bed ready for Alexandria on pediatrics. Dr. Shephard wants to admit her there for the night."

"Thank you. I already spoke with Dr. Shephard." Charlotte responds.

The nurse looks at Andie. "We weren't sure you would be comfortable on the pediatric floor."

Andie looks at the nurse. She figures the nurse doesn't send many pregnant patients up to pediatrics.

"That's fine." Charlotte nods at the nurse. "Andie's seventeen, pediatrics is for patients up to eighteen, so it's fine."

The nurse looks at Andie. "I'll take you up there now if you can just get into the wheelchair for me."

Andie looks at Chase for help. She's got the sono picture hidden behind her back. She pulls it out slightly to show Chase.

Chase catches on. "I'll help her get into the wheelchair. She's still a little weak." Chase offers. Andie shoves the sonogram picture into his hand. He quickly shoves it in his pocket.

"Are you coming with us, Momma?" Andie looks up from the wheelchair.

"Course I am, Sweet Pea." Charlotte smiles. "You're not getting rid of me that fast."

Andie smiles then looks at Tyler and Chase.

They all follow Andie to her hospital room. Chase looks over at his momma and wonders how she'll take the news that she's gonna be a grandma soon.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW! =)<strong>_


	91. Chapter 91

_**CHAPTER 91**_

* * *

><p>Amelia checks on Andie in her hospital room. She looks through Andie's chart. "How are you feeling this morning?"<p>

"I'm tired and nauseous."

"Did you have any breakfast?" Amelia asks.

"I had some jello and apple juice." Andie tells her. "But now I want to barf." Andie grabs a basin from her bedside table and starts spitting into it. Amelia pulls her hair back, rubbing her back.

Cooper walks in the room. "Hi, pumpkin. You don't look so good." He rushes over to her side and takes over rubbing her back.

"I'm fine, daddy." Andie wipes her mouth with a washcloth that Amelia handed her.

"She's still vomiting?" Cooper asks Amelia.

"Yep."

"That's some nasty stomach virus. I better scrub up and change my clothes before I go back to see Drew."

"Yes, you should, Cooper." Amelia lies, keeping Andie's secret. Amelia turns to Andie and tells her. "I'm going to have the nurse put a medication called Zofran in your IV. It'll take care of the nausea and vomiting. You'll be able to eat and feel strong again."

"Are you sure it's okay for me to have that?" Andie asks.

"I'm sure, silly girl." Amelia flashes her badge and a smile. "I'm known to be a pretty competent doctor around here."

"I know that you're a good doctor. I just want to make sure the Zofran is okay because…-" Andie's worried if it's okay to take the med while she's pregnant but can't ask in front of Cooper.

"It's perfectly safe." Amelia looks into Andie's eyes. "It's better for you to have the Zofran than to continue vomiting. Your electrolytes were out of whack when you came in because of the dehydration. This way you'll be able to keep down your seizure meds."

"You're sure it's okay?" Andie taps her belly, trying to get Amelia to understand what she's really asking.

"Yes." Amelia gives her a smile, looking at her belly. "It's a safe drug."

"What are you so worried about, Andy Candy? Zofran is safe to take with your seizure meds." Cooper reassures his daughter.

"I just wanted to make sure." Andie tells him.

Amelia pipes in. "She's seventeen now, Cooper. It's good that Andie's looking out for herself and asking questions instead on depending on mommy and daddy to do it for her."

"True." Cooper nods his head up and down. "But, I'll always look out for my Andie Candy. No matter how old she is." Cooper tousles Andie's hair, earning him a little giggle from his only daughter.

"Don't worry, Cooper. I'm taking good care of both your children today. The Freedman's are keeping me in business." Amelia jokes before writing something in Andie's chart.

Cooper turns his attention back to Andie. "Have you spoken to Nicky? Does he know your in the hospital?"

"Nope and I don't plan to." Andie answers firmly.

"See, didn't I tell you it wasn't going to last?" Cooper grins.

Andie scowls at her father now.

Cooper shakes his head slightly with a little smile. "I don't mean to sound all fatherly and say I told you so but I know these things. You're too young to be involved in that kind of relationship, spending all your free time with Nicky and visiting him at his cottage. You're lucky you didn't end up pregnant before it ended."

Andie swallows before looking over at Amelia. Amelia's presses her lips together in a funny grin before telling Andie. "I'll leave you alone to talk to your father a few minutes while I go get the Zofran."

Andie watches Amelia leave the room before turning to look at Cooper. "I don't feel like talking right now, daddy. I'm tired. I want to go back to sleep. Do you mind?"

"Uh..Sure." Cooper gets up off of her bed and sits down next to her in the bedside chair.

"You don't have to stay, daddy. You can go back to momma and Drew. I'm a big girl."

"Not a chance." Cooper winks. "You're still my baby, even though your my oldest." Cooper picks up a newspaper from the bedside table. "I'll stay until you fall asleep just like I did when you were little." Cooper grabs hold of Andie's hand and squeezes it.

"What are you doing, daddy?"

"When you were little, you used to ask me to hold your hand until you fell asleep. That's what I'm doing."

Andie looks at Cooper before lying her head back down on her pillow. It feels good to have her daddy hold her hand. She closes her eyes and imagines being a little girl again. She's asleep in less than two minutes.

* * *

><p>Charlotte joins Amelia in the hospital cafeteria. "It's good to see you out of Drew's room for a change." Amelia smiles.<p>

Charlotte sits down with her lunch tray. "Cooper just got back to the room. He stayed with Andie until she feel asleep and now he's playing a video game with Drew."

"Changing of the guard." Amelia comments while looking at Charlotte's lunch plate. "Just a litttle hungry?" She teases, eyeing Charlotte's cheeseburger and fries with a piece of chocolate cake.

"I just about swallowed my tongue." Charlotte nods. "I don't think I put anything but coffee in my mouth the whole time Drew's been in the hospital."

"Well if your making up for a week worth of starving yourself, dig in, don't mind me and my yougurt." Amelia chuckles.

"Cooper told me Andie was able to hold down her breaskfast this mornin'." Charlotte bites off the tip of a fry.

"Yep. I put her on Zofran." Amelia nods. "Andie's doing great. I'll probably send her home tomorrow." Amelia grabs one of Charlotte's fries from her plate.

"Poor kid." Charlotte comments. "I've been so preoccupied with Drew I didn't even know she was sick."

"Yeah, well, teenagers are good at hiding things from their parents." Amelia answers.

"Momma used to say they'll pee down your back and tell you it's raining." Charlotte takes a bite out of her cheeseburger.

"Can we not discuss pee while we're eating." Amelia scowls before reaching over and taking another fry from Charlotte's plate. "Dylan just turned fourteen. That kid's going to give Cole and I a run for our money."

Charlotte takes another bite of her cheesburger. "Noah's gonna give me and Coop a run of it too, and forget about Drew. I know Drew's going to be trouble as a teenager."

Amelia grins. "I think your right."

"I welcome it." Charlotte explains. "After what we went through with Drew this past week that little fella can give me all the grief he wants. I'm just happy to have him alive and kickin'."

"I hear ya'." Amelia nods. "I feel the same way about Dylan. As long as he stays in remission from his Hodgkins, I'm happy." Amelia knocks on the wood table.

"Kids... they sure do age us, don't they?" Charlotte bites into another fry.

Amelia looks at Charlotte. "You haven't aged much since I met you. How do you stay so thin eating like that?"

Charlotte snickers. "By workin' two jobs and chasin' after four kids, a dog and Cooper."

Amelia laughs. "Cooper's enough to equal chasin' twelve kids or dogs."

Charlotte wipes her face with a napkin. "Any particular reason you're pickin' on my husband?"

Amelia rolls her eyes while she eats her yogurt. "Sorry." She answers. She doesn't want to get into a discussion with Charlotte about how it still bothers her that Cooper couldn't handle things and left Charlotte alone in the room with Drew while she was intubating him, the same way he couldn't handle things many years ago when he left her alone with Charlotte while she stitched up Charlotte's after the rape.

"How are things with Sheldon?" Charlotte asks.

"We're going through the motions of an old married couple." Amelia adds. "For Sara's sake."

"What about Cole?" Charlotte raises an eyebrow.

"I still see Cole." Amelia spoons more yogurt into her mouth.

Charlotte's phone beeps. She reads the text from Cooper. She looks up, telling Amelia. "Cooper and Drew want me to bring them up two kids meals from the hospital cafeteria."

"Two kid's meals?" Amelia asks.

"Yeah, they like the toy the cafeteria's giving out this month. It's Animae. Cooper loves Anime. He's tryin' to get Drew into it." Charlotte explains.

Amelia laughs. "Well, if you excuse me, I'm going to stop by Cole's office before I get back to work. Maybe I'll get some cowboy lovin' if I'm lucky."

Charlotte rolls her eyes at her friend now.

* * *

><p>Noah's staying at Jolie's house while his parents are at the hospital with Drew and Andie.<p>

Lila and Dylan knock on the door. Marley lets them in.

"Is your mom home?" Dylan asks Marley.

"Nope, she's still at work."

"What about Cole Jr.?" Dylan asks.

"He's out with Suzanna. They're taking Duchess for her walk."

"How long will they be?"

"I don't know." Marley shrugs. "Why?"

"Because, we brought this." Lila pulls a bag of weed out of her pocket.

"I can't do it anymore." Marley tells them. "My mother will disown me for real if I get caught again."

"So, don't get caught." Dylan tells her.

"I'm not going to smoke it either," Noah says. "My mom still talks about how we messed up her car because we were smoking weed."

"And my mother's mailbox." Marley tells them. "I'm still listening to my mother go off about how we destroyed her designer mailbox."

"Your mother's weird." Lila says.

"She's not weird." Marley defends. "She just cares about me."

"All of our parents care about us." Lila snarks at her. "Your mother's neurotic."

"What about your mother?" Marley puts her hands on her hips, asking Violet. "You can't say your mother isn't neurotic _and_ weird."

"Chill." Dylan plops down on the couch. "Let's not talk about whose parents are weirder than whose. Let's just chill." Dylan takes his portion of weed out of the bag and passes the bag to Noah. Noah tosses the bag back to Dylan. "I told you. I quit the stuff."

"Your parents aren't even around." Dylan insists. "They're at the hospital with your sister and little brother. They'll never know."

"You guys could smoke it but me and Noah are going outside." Marley walks for the door. Noah follows.

"Let's get out of here." Dylan rises to his feet, telling Lila, while smoking his weed. "Let's leave these geeks alone to play Scrabble."

"We weren't playing Scrabble!" Marley calls after them. "We were playing Yahtzee and we're not the geeks, you are!"

Noah rolls his eyes.

"Never mind. We're leaving. You two can stay here." Dylan and Lila breeze out the door. They pass Cole Jr and Suzie as they walk in the door with the dog. Suzanna says "hello," to Dylan and Lila but they brush past her.

"I don't know why they don't like me." Suzie says. "I never did anything to them."

"Don't worry about it. They're mad at me and Noah." Marley tells her.

"Why?"

"We wouldn't smoke weed with them." Marley tells the truth. "So, now we're geeks."

"I knew I smelled marijuana." Cole Jr. says. "I didn't want to mention it, but it reeks of it in here."

"It wasn't us." Noah says. "It was Dylan and Lila."

"You better light some candles before mom comes home." Cole Jr. tells Marley. "Mom's going to freak and think it was you two."

Marley gets busy opening the windows and spraying air freshner.

Suzie asks Noah. "Did you know Nicky and Andie broke up?"

"Yep." Noah nods.

Suzie tells him. "Nicky's miserable. He doesn't want to talk about it. Do you know why they broke up?" Suzie asks.

"I have no idea." Noah shrugs.

"How's Andie doing with it?" Suzie asks.

"Andie's been in the hospital. She has a bad stomach virus and she had a seizure."

"I didn't know that. I don't think Nicky knows that either." Suzie says.

"My little brother got really sick after he had the flu." Noah tells Suzanna. "He's in the hospital too."

Marley rubs Noah's shoulder. "It's a good thing you didn't catch it."

"That's right." Cole Jr. adds his two cents. "We have the Valentine's dance coming up this Friday. Are you guys going?"

"Yep. Are you?" Marley asks.

"We're already practicing dancing for it." Suzie tells her.

"You guys are weird." Noah jokes.

Suzie complains. "Too bad Nicky's band is playing at the high school's Valentine's dance. I wish he could play at our dance, instead we get a DJ."

"I guess my sister won't be going to the Valentine's dance if Nicky's band is playing." Noah shrugs.

"She should still go." Marley says. "It's going to look bad if she doesn't show up cuz of Nicky. It's like saying she's still in love with him. She should find a date and go."

"I don't know, maybe she will go as long as she's out of the hospital by then." Noah shrugs, rolling the dice.

"You guys want to play Yahtzee with us?" Marely asks her brother and Suzie.

"Sure." They both sit down at the table.

* * *

><p>Amelia comes back in Andie's room. "How are you feeling?"<p>

"Much better." Andie tells her. "That Zofran works good. I ate a sandwich with soup and pretzels for lunch and I kept it all down."

"Excellent." Amelia tells her. "As long as you're able to hold your food and meds down. I can send you home. I'll start giving you the Zofran in pill form tonight and if all goes well, I'll take out your IV and send you home tomorrow morning."

"Great." Andie nods.

"You need to tell your parents you're pregnant, Andie." Amelia looks her in the eye.

"I don't want to upset them while Drew's still in the hospital."

"I understand that." Amelia nods.

"Especially, my dad. I'm afraid he may have a heart attack. He didn't want me going out with Nicky. He wanted me to break up with him a long time ago."

"If you plan on keeping this baby they're going to find out eventually."

"I know that. I'll tell them when the time is right but it's not the right time now. I'll wait until Drew comes home."

"I agree." Amelia nods. "But, once Drew's home, you need to tell them. You're going to need their help."

Andie nods reluctantly.


	92. Chapter 92

_**CHAPTER 92**_

* * *

><p>Cooper drives Andie home from the hospital. "I'll stay home with you today while your mother stays with Drew."<p>

"It's okay, daddy. I'll be fine at home by myself." Andie looks out the car window.

"I want to stay home with you, pumpkin. Drew's doing better."

"When do you think Drew will be able to come home from the hospital?" Andie asks Cooper.

Cooper talks as he drives. "He needs a few more days of the the medicine and he needs to get his strength back but I'd say he should be home by the weekend."

"Oh." Andie stares out the car window, thinking that she has to tell her parents the news when Drew comes home. She's dreading it.

Cooper pats Andie's leg to get her attention. "We can watch some movies and hang out, just me and you since the boys are at school."

"Are you sure Drew's coming home by the weekend?" Andie bites on her fingernail.

Cooper pats her leg again. "Drew's going to be okay. He's getting stronger everyday. Your momma's going to have him walk to her office with her today. The more he walks the stronger his legs will get."

"I'd never thought I'd miss Drew bouncing off the walls." Andie comments.

"He'll be bouncing off the walls again soon enough, don't worry." Cooper pulls in the driveway with Andie.

"Home sweet home." Cooper tells her as they get out of the car.

"Yep, there's no place like home." Andie clicks her heels, joking with Cooper.

"Let's go inside, Dorothy, before you blow away. You must have lost ten pounds from that stomach virus." Cooper opens the front door for his daughter.

"Seven pounds. The nurse weighed me this morning. I've lost seven pounds from all the vomiting." Andie boasts.

Cooper tugs on his own waist band. "Maybe I should drink out of your glass. I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds."

Andie laughs. "It's not a good way to lose weight, daddy. Believe me. I've had a horrible taste in my mouth all week. I guess it's from vomiting bile. It's really bitter."

"I remember your momma used to get a bitter taste in her mouth when she was pregnant." Cooper tells her.

"Really?" Andie swallows. "Did she have morning sickness? Was it from vomiting bile?"

"Your momma was lucky she didn't get morning sickness too bad with any of her pregnancies but she complained of a bad taste in her mouth the whole time. I think it was a hormomal thing."

Andie thinks about it. She wants to get it over with, instead of worrying about it until the weekend. She takes a deep breath and starts " Daddy…I have something to tell you."

"What?" Cooper raises both eyebrows and waits.

"I…Uhm... I…Uhm " She swallows, chickening out. "I... miss Nicky." She blurts out.

"Thank God." Cooper rubs his hand over his head.

Andie scrunches up her face. "What?"

"No...No... I don't mean thank God you miss Nicky. I thought you were going to tell me you were pregnant. I think my heart skipped a beat." Cooper chuckles now.

"Why did you think that?"

Cooper shakes his head. "Ahhh..." He shakes it off. "You were asking about morning sickness and you've been vomiting. You mentioned you had a bad taste in your mouth like your momma used to get when she was pregnant...I swear my heart skipped a beat."

Andie looks at the ground. "Sorry, I scared you, daddy."

"My fault for jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry that I jumped to that conclusion." Cooper pats Andie on the back. "I know that could never happen. You're responsible and on the pill. I'm sorry I doubted you, pumkin. Do you forgive me?"

Andie stares at the ground while slowly nodding her head yes. She feels her heart beat faster. Her palms start to sweat.

Cooper looks at his daughter. "I'm sorry you're hurting. What can I do to get your mind off Nicky?"

"I miss him, daddy. He doesn't even know I was in the hospital."

"Eh, you don't need that clown. You've got me." Cooper puts a big smile on his face.

"He's not a clown, daddy. He's a rock star. He could have any girl he wants and I kicked him to the curb." Andie rubs her head.

"Care to tell me what the fight was about?"

Andie grimaces. "Not really."

"Okay pumpkin. I know breaking up is hard to do. Nicky was your first love but I promise it will get better. Go sit on the couch. I'll make some popcorn and we'll watch some movies to get your mind off of Nicky."

"K." Andie sits on the couch with tears in her eyes. She wonders when or if the time will ever be right to tell her parents. She thinks maybe Nicky was right that having an abortion would be the easiest solution. But now she can't, not after she saw the baby's heart beat. Chase and Tyler saw it too. She can't have an abortion now. "Ughhhh..." She sighs deeply to herself while she waits for her dad to come back.

* * *

><p>Chase passes Tess in the hall at school. "Are you going to the Valentines' Dance?"<p>

"Why? Are you?" Tess asks.

"I asked you first." Chase asks.

"I'm going with Logan."

"Why? Logan's a jerk."

"At least he wouldn't ditch me to dance with another girl, especially if I was his girlfriend."

"Are you his girlfriend?"

"Why do you care?" Tess asks defensively.

"Why are you doing this Tess?"

"You want to listen to your father and see other people, then go ahead but I can do the same. I'm going to the dance with Logan."

"Then I'll go with Haili."

"You're an ass." Tess walks away towards her locker.

Chase rolls his eyes and goes to class.

* * *

><p>Marley and Noah are eating lunch in the school cafeteria. Three girls walk up to Noah and Marley. A girl with short dark spiky hair threatens Marley. "I'm gonna get me one." She glares at Marley.<p>

Marley and Noah put down their sandwiches to look up at the girl.

"Today at 5pm after my detention is over. I'll see you in the parking lot of the Mickey D's. Just so there's no mistakes I'm talking about the one around the corner from the school, bitch." The girl sneers at Marley before walking off with her snickering friends.

"What the fuck?" Noah calls after the girls.

"Morgan wants to kick the crap out of me." Marley tells Noah.

"Why?"

"This morning she tried to steal my Nook Tablet on the bus. I had it on my lap on top of my books and she grabbed it."

"What'd you do?"

"I told her to give it back but Morgan and her friends denied she took it and laughed at me."

"The Nooks all have serial numbers. Miss Williams has them logged into the computer so you can prove it's yours." Noah explains.

"I know, that's why I didn't argue on the bus with them about it. When I got to school I told Miss Williams what happened. She asked to see Morgan's Nook. She checked the serial number. Miss Williams made Morgan apologize to me in front of the class. Morgan has detention for three days for stealing my Nook. Plus, if she doesn't find her Nook by the end of the week her parents have to pay the school the price to buy a new one."

"Good." Noah nods. "We had to sign a contract at the beginning of the year that if you lose your Nook you have to replace it."

"Now, Morgan wants to beat me up. What should I do? Should I fight her?"

"Do you want to?"

Marley shakes her head. "I've never fought anyone in my life. She'll kick my ass."

"Then don't fight her. Don't go to Mickey D's."

"But I'll see her on the bus tomorrow. She'll tell everyone I was too chicken to show up."

"Can't you ask your mom or dad or Tyler to drive you to school? Then you can ride my bus home with me."

"I guess but how long can I avoid her for?"

"Sooner or later she'll forget, either once she finds her Nook or her parents pay for a new one. Have Your parents or Tyler drive you until then."

"I'll ask my dad or Tyler. If I tell my mom she'll be up at the principal's office making the situation worse."

Noah chuckles.

Lila and Dylan sit down next to Marley and Noah in the school cafeteria. "I'm surprised you still want to sit with us. I thought we were dorks." Marley tells them.

"You are dorks, but you're _our_ dorks." Lila answers. Marley scrunches her face, not sure how to take that. Lila finishes her school lunch. "Are you going to eat your cookie?" Lila asks Marley.

"No. I'm stuffed."

"Can I have it?" Lila asks.

"Go ahead, take it." Marley hands her the cookie.

"Are you going to eat your pudding?" Lila asks Noah.

"Actually, I was." Noah opens his pudding and takes a spoonful.

"Give me your cheese." Lila grabs a cheese stick off Dylan's plate and bites into it.

"Hey, I wanted that." Dylan complains.

After she finishes eating, Lila excuses herself for the bathroom.

"You know she's going to barf up my cookie and your cheese stick." Marley tells Dylan.

"She wasted a good cheese stick." Dylan gripes. "I wanted it."

"I should blow the whistle on her." Marley tells Dylan.

"You better not." Dylan warns Marley.

"Then, stop treating me and Noah like geeks and I won't tell anyone that Lila's binging and barfing."

* * *

><p>Chase comes home from school. Andie and Cooper are watching "Oliver" on TV.<p>

"Good old classical movie." Chase looks at the television. "How you feeling, Andie?"

"Better. That medicine Amelia gave me is magic."

"Witchcraft." Chase jokes.

"You're in a good mood today." Cooper tells Chase before tossing some popcorn in his mouth.

"Not really." Chase sits down. "Today sucked."

"Why?" Andie asks.

"Tess wants to go to the Valentine's dance with some jerk named Logan."

"Who are you going with then?" Andie asks.

"I guess I'll ask Haili." Chase shrugs. "Who else?"

"This is good." Cooper nods and pops more popcorn in his mouth. "You need to expand your horizons and see other people just like Andie and Nicky."

"I'm not seeing anyone else, daddy. I'm just taking a break from Nicky. I don't want to see anyone else."

"So, then who are you going to go to the Valentine's Dance with?"

"I forgot all about it." Andie shrugs. "I guess I'll stay home."

""You should go, pumpkin. It'll keep your mind off Nicky. It's good to keep busy." Cooper advices her.

Chase adds. "Except, Nicky's band is playing at the dance."

"I definitely can't go then." Andie pops more popcorn into her mouth.

"Why not?" Cooper asks. "Show him you're strong. Show him that you're not going to stay home and cry over him."

"I don't know." Andie sighs.

"Take Tyler as your date." Cooper suggests.

"She can't, dad. They only allow high school students at the dance. Nobody else is allowed to be there." Chase explains.

"Great, how am I going to get a date with someone by Friday?" Andie sighs.

"Go solo." Chase suggests.

"I'll look like a loser."

"Don't you have any friends from the drama club you could go with?" Cooper asks. "It doesn't have to be a date, as long as Nicky see's your having fun and not miserable without him."

"I guess I can ask if any of them are going."

"Good." Cooper hands Andie his phone. "Start calling because you _are_ going to that dance."

Andie rolls her eyes.

* * *

><p>Charlotte returns to Drew's room. He's lying in bed with his eyes squeezed tightly shut. Charlotte lies down beside him. "Stop playing possum, Squirt."<p>

Drew's eyes pop wide open. "How did you know?"

Charlotte picks up the console to the video game. "This console is still warm."

Drew looks at his momma with guilty eyes. He should have been asleep an hour ago.

Charlotte tweaks his nose while smiling. "Thought you could pass one off on your ole' momma, huh?"

"I'm not tired, momma. I don't wanna go to sleep yet."

"I told you to hit the hay and hour ago."

"I tried but I couldn't sleep without you. Where did you go?"

"I had to get some paperwork done if I still wanna run this place in the mornin'."

"Oh...You can go back and finish it if you want."

Charlotte tweaks Drew's nose. "I finished it, and no more video games for you, Squirt." Charlotte puts the remotes on the bedside table.

Drew stalls. "I don't wanna go to sleep."

"What do you want to do, at this hour of the day, Squirt?"

Drew folds his arms against his chest. "I want to go home. That's what I really want." Drew pouts.

"Soon, squirt. You're getting better every day."

"I wish I could go home tomorrow. I miss Scout."

Charlotte laughs. "You miss your dog more than your sister and brothers?"

"Yeah." Drew giggles. Charlotte tickles him to make him giggle even more. "I love you, momma." Drew laughs as Charlotte tickles him.

Charlotte stops tickling to tap him on the nose and tell him, "I love you too, Squirt."

Drew asks, while still giggling. "Why do you call me Squirt?"

Charlotte chuckles to herself before saying. "I don't think you really want to know the answer to that."

"Yes! I do." Drew smiles. "Tell me or I'll tickle you." Drew starts to tickle Charlotte's belly.

"Not gonna work." Charlotte smiles and taps him on the nose again. "I'm not ticklish." Only Cooper knows her ticklish spots and she doesn't dare mention where they are to her six year old.

"How come you're not ticklish?" Drew asks his momma.

"I was when I was a kid. Ticklish wears off some people as they grow. Your daddy is still ticklish on his belly, so you might want to try tickling him next time he comes up to see you."

"I will." Drew smiles. "But you still didn't tell me why you call me Squirt."

Charlotte grows a big smile on her face. She sticks her tongue out a little before she begins. "When you were a new little baby and we brought you home from the hospital Andie was twelve. Daddy was teaching her how to change your diaper. Daddy's a pediatrician and claimed to be an expert on diaper changing."

"What does that have to do with calling me Squirt?"

"Let me finish." Charlotte sticks the tip of her tongue out and licks her lip before finishing her story. "You see with newborn baby boys you have to cover up their wee-wee's while you change them or they'll squirt you."

Drew's face lights up with laughter. "Who did I Squirt? Daddy or Andie?"

"Ya' got your sister good, right in the face." Charlotte snickers.

"What did Andie do?"

"She ran away from you screaming like a bear was chasin' her." Charlotte smiles while thinking back. "Then she stuck her face under the kitchen faucet and let the water run until I had to pull her out. You'd think she got sprayed by a skunk."

"It was only baby pee." Drew laughs.

"Any kind of pee is gross to twelve year old girls, especially on their faces." Charlotte tweaks his nose. "Your sister was mortified by that experience."

Drew rolls on the bed with laughter. Charlotte watches. She's grateful to see him moving around like normal again.

"Did I squirt anyone else again after that?'

"You tried and you were a good squirt but we were always careful to cover you up with a wipe after that."

"What about Andie?"

"Let's just say Andie never wanted to change a baby's diaper since. I don't know if your sister will ever want to have a baby of her own after what you did to her." Charlotte tickles Drew again.

"Heee...heeeeha!" Drew wiggles around and laughs at his momma.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW =)<strong>_


	93. Chapter 93

_**CHAPTER 93 - VALENTINES DANCE**_

* * *

><p>Friday night has finally arrived. Andie shows up solo at the high school Valentine's Dance. She's wearing a fuchsia sleeveless top with a sheer neckline along with a black mini skirt and sheer black stockings. Her red-blonde hair is pulled back into a French braid. She spots her friends from the drama club sitting at a table in front of the stage. The band hasn't come out yet and she's happy for that. Andie hasn't seen or heard from Nicky since he came to bring her doughnuts at the hospital when Drew was sick. She weighs seven pounds less since then from all the vomiting. There's no chance anyone would suspect she's pregnant since she's lost weight instead of gained any. The gang from the drama club talk about their upcoming production of Grease. "You should try out for Sandy, Andie." One of the guys tells her.<p>

"I'm auditioning for Rizzo." Andie tells them. "Rizzo's a lot more fun than Sandy."

"You should play Frenchie cuz of your red hair." A dark haired girl tells her.

"Nah, I wanna be Rizzo." Andie tells them. "I think I'd make a good Rizzo."

"_I_ was going to try out for Rizzo." The dark haired girl says. "I look more like Rizzo. You have red hair. You should play Frenchie."

"I like the part of Rizzo better." Andie tells her.

"You can both try out for Rizzo." The blonde guy tells them. "It's up to the drama teacher to decide who get's what part."

Andie and the dark haired girl exchange looks with each other. "Great" Andie thinks to herself. I'm trying to make friends and instead I just made an enemy.

* * *

><p>Cooper meets Sam, Pete and Sheldon at Giorgio's for a drink. "Glad you could make it." Sam hands Cooper a beer.<p>

"Are you kidding me?" Cooper scoffs. "It feels like a century's passed since I last went out for a drink. I'm stoked." Cooper sips the beer.

"That's what you get for going and having four kids, old man." Pete sips his drink.

"You wish you were a stud like me." Cooper jokes.

"I am a stud."

"You're both old men." Sam teases them. "We all are." Sam watches a group of college students sit down at the bar. "They're the studs now."

"Maybe you're old," Cooper scoffs. "But I still got it."

"Check out that blonde bombshell that just walked in. She's got her eye on you, Coop." Sam grins.

Cooper turns around to look at the blonde dressed in a sexy red form fitting dress with black stockings and heels. "Charlotte," Cooper gasps. "What are you doing here, woman?" Cooper yells across the bar with a big grin on his face. Charlotte makes her way over.

"I wanted to surprise ya'." She gives him her sexy eyed look.

Cooper looks at his friends. "Were you guys in on this?"

"Happy pre-Valentines Day!" Pete raised up his glass.

Sheldon adds. "We figured you and Charlotte could use a night out after spending two weeks in the hospital with Drew."

"Hell Yeah!' Cooper finishes his beer. Charlotte takes him by the hand and leads him to a table near the stage.

"How's Drew?" Cooper asks before he sits down.

"Drew's great. Amelia took Sara up to visit him so I could surprise you with an early Valentine's dinner."

Cooper looks around. "You know Nicky's band isn't playing here tonight? They're playing at the school Valentine's dance."

"How was Andie when you left?" Charlotte asks.

"She was okay. She's meeting up with some friends from the drama club at the dance. Here, I took a picture of her before she left." Cooper takes out his phone to show Charlotte.

Charlotte looks at the picture. "She looks tired. She looks like she lost weight from that stomach virus."

"She did." Cooper nods. "It took a lot out of her but I plan on fattening her back up."

"How?" Charlotte asks.

"I promised to make her favorite Nutella crepes for breakfast tomorrow."

"Good thing Amelia's discharging Drew from the hospital first thing in the morning I want some of those crepes." Charlotte licks her lip.

"Yes ma'am. I'll have them ready and waiting for you."

"Did you take any pictures of Chase and Noah before they left for their dances?" Charlotte smooths her napkin over her lap.

Cooper pulls out his phone to show her a picture of Chase with Haili.

Charlotte laughs. "If Chase was standing any further away from Haili he'd be in China."

"He'd be on another planet." Cooper chuckles. "He doesn't want anyone to mistake them as a couple. They're going as friends I was told a zillion times." Cooper flips to the next picture.

"Aw, Noah and Marley look adorable." Charlotte smiles. "I wish I could have been home to send them off to their dances."

"You'll be home in the morning. You can ask them all about it. Meanwhile no more kid talk tonight. Tonight _we _are on a date." Cooper suggests."Let's make this night about us."

"Oh, it will be. Wait until you see my next surprise." Charlotte teases.

"You mean there's more?" Cooper's eyes light up.

" I'm savin' the best for last." Charlotte looks at him with a sly grin.

* * *

><p>Tess is sitting at a table with her date, Logan, and his friends from the football team, along with their dates. She makes small talk while she watches the door for Chase to show up. After about ten minutes Chase saunters in with Haili on his arm. Tess cringes. Chase is wearing a white dress shirt with a thin red tie and jeans. Haili's wearing a cute, short red dress with matching heels.<p>

"Hi Logan." Haili smiles and waves as they walk by.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Logan asks them. "We still have some empty seats at the table."

Haili looks at Chase who signals _no _to her that he doesn't want to sit at Logan's table. "That's okay, we're meeting friends." Haili and Chase sit down at the table across from Tess and Logan.

"Hi," A blonde girl greets them. "I didn't know you two were a couple."

"We're not." Chase answers. "We just came to the dance together since we both don't have dates."

"I thought you were dating Tess Powers?" The blonde girl asks Chase.

"We broke up."

"That's good for Haili." The blonde girl smiles at Haili. Haili laughs. Chase keeps looking over at Tess and Logan.

Tess leans in closer to Logan to make Chase jealous. She wraps her arm around Logan's neck and gives him a quick short kiss on the lips.

Chase turns his head and looks away. He doesn't want to see this. Haili notices. "I'm thirsty. Do you want to come with me to get something to drink from the refreshment table?"

Chase nods. He wants to get as far away from Tess and Logan as possible. As they walk by Tess and Logan's table, Haili grabs hold of Chase's hand. Tess thinks a minute before she grabs Logan's hand. "C'mon, let's go to the refreshment stand." They stand right behind Haili and Chase on line.

Tess tells Logan. "I'm having such a good time. I'm so glad you asked me to the dance." She says it loud enough to make sure Chase can hear her. Chase rolls his eyes. He knows exactly what she's doing.

"I'm having fun too." Logan tells Tess.

The principal comes on stage to announce the band. "Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, it's Spell-Broken."

The girls from drama club get up to cheer along with most of the other students at the dance. Nicky's the last of the band members to run onto the stage. The girls scream even louder when he takes the microphone.

"Thanks everyone." Nicky talks into the microphone. "Some of you may already know that I graduated from this school three years ago. I was honored Principal Schmidt asked me to play here for your Valentine's dance." The crowd applauds and screams louder now.

Andie studies Nicky. He looks hot as hell, like he always does on stage. He's wearing a dark grey t-shirt with a white jacket over it and his favorite performing jeans.

Andie watches the girls shriek wildly for Nicky as he picks up his guitar. Her heart sinks. She wonders how long it will be before he finds a new girlfriend. He looks at her and smiles. She turns her eyes away from him. She keeps her eyes on Cody who's playing the drums. They start the first song. Andie's grateful that Jodie, the female singer of the band is starting on vocals tonight. She couldn't take it if Nicky started singing some love song for Valentines day.

The drama club members get up to dance, Andie decides to join them to fit in. She wants Nicky to think she's having fun. She doesn't want to look like a loser sitting at the table by herself. After dancing to two songs the group sits back down at their table for refreshments. Nicky takes over the vocals now. He sings *Moves like Jagger.*

The dark haired girl from the drama club yells out. "I love this song! Let's dance!" Another girl grabs Andie's arm, pulling her back out onto the dance floor.

"He's really hot." The dark haired girl points out Nicky. "I'd do him in a heartbeat."

"He's got amazing lips. Don't they just scream kiss me?" Another girl says. Two more blonde girls join them on the dance floor. "Kiss me! Kiss me!" The two girls call out to Nicky.

"I'll kiss him anytime!" Another blonde yells. "Look! He's looking over here. He's looking at me!" The girl waves her arms at Nicky.

"No. He's looking at me." The dark haired girl dancing next to Andie says.

Andie dances quietly alongside the other girls. She knows he's looking at her. He's probably surprised to see her out on the dance floor having fun with other girls her age or at least pretending to have fun with them. Nicky plays to the crowd of screaming teenagers. Andie watches him now and wonders if the baby will have his dark hair and olive skin or her red hair and fair skin. Damn... he looks directly at her now and sings:

~~Maybe it's hard~~

When you feel like you're broken and scarred

~~Nothing feels right~~

Nicky moves around the stage and sings. He continues to look directly in Andie's directions while he sings the words:

~~~ But when... You're with me~~

I'll make you believe

That I've got the key

~~So... get in... my car~~~

After another verse, Nicky takes off his jacket and swings it around the stage while singing~~ "I got the moves like jagger."~~~ The girls all scream for him to throw it to them. He throws it to Andie. The other girls try to grab it but Andie holds on to it tight.

"He was throwing it to me!" The dark haired girl yells at Andie. "Let go of it!"

Andie keeps a tight grip on Nicky's jacket.

"Give it to me!" The dark haired girl tugs hard at the jacket. Andie holds on to Nicky's jacket as tight as she can with both hands.

"You're going to rip it." The blonde boy from drama club laughs at them. "Then you can each have half of it."

The dark haired girl tugs furiously at the jacket.

"Let go. It's mine!" Andie growls at her.

"It's mine." The dark haired girl growls back. "He was throwing it to me but you grabbed it."

"Let her keep it." A blonde tells the dark haired girl. "Andie caught it fair and square."

"Yeah, Andie caught it. Let go of the jacket, Isabel." The blonde boy tells the dark haired girl.

Isabel scowls at Andie before letting go of her grip on the jacket.

Andie looks up at the stage now. Nicky's watching her while he continues to sing. He winks at Andie. Andie's mortified that Nicky saw her fighting the other girl for his jacket. She can't take anymore. She decides this is a good time to use the bathroom. She ties the jacket around her neck like a shawl and walks to the girls bathroom. She's embarrassed Nicky saw her fight for it but there was no way she was letting Isabel have his jacket.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper lie on satin sheets relishing the afterglow in the hotel room Charlotte booked for them. Charlotte rests her head on Cooper's chest making little swirls with her fingers. "So, did you like your surprise?"<p>

"I think you know the answer to that." Cooper smirks and kisses her head.

"I thought you would." Charlotte smiles. "I got you good."

Cooper stays quiet while he rubs circles on Charlotte's back with his hand.

"What are you thinking about, Coop?"

"I was thinking about how I'm going to have to top this?"

"What?" Charlotte lifts her head up.

"Valentine's Day isn't for a few more days. I'm thinking what gift I can get you that will top this."

Charlotte playfully smacks Cooper with her hand. "You're supposed to thank me, not figure out a way to top me."

"Oh, I'm going to top you, woman."

Charlotte bites her bottom lip. She sticks her tongue slightly out of her mouth. "What have you got planned?"

"I'm not telling." Cooper snickers.

"Tell me or else!" Charlotte playfully demands.

"Or else what?"

"You'll see."

"Show me now." Cooper laughs. "We have another hour before you have to get back to the hospital for Drew and I have to be home for the kids."

"What kids?" Charlotte role plays. "We just met. I'm Can U Handle Me 411. Nice to meet ya'." She gives Cooper her hand to shake.

Cooper shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm The Robust Knight Rider 114. Why don't we have a drink at my place?"

"Maybe later. I wanna see if you can handle me first."

Cooper snickers. "This Robust Knight can handle anything as long as I have my hardy knight stick with me."

"Well then I hope you brought it" Charlotte flirts.

"Look under the sheets."

Charlotte pokes her head under the sheet. "You weren't lyin'. It's definitely a _hardy_ stick. Show me what you can do with it."

"Yes, ma'am." Cooper rolls back on top of Charlotte.

* * *

><p>Tess dances with Logan while she watches Chase dance with Haili. She can't keep her eyes off them. The more she watches them the more upset it makes her.<p>

"Why do you keep looking at Chase and Haili?" Logan asks.

"I'm not." Tess quickly looks away from Chase's direction.

"I have to make a phone call." Logan tells her. "I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you." Tess follows Logan into the hallway. She waits for Logan in an empty stairwell while he makes a phone call. After Logan ends his call, Tess calls him over and leans up close against him. She gives him a quick kiss on the lips. He hesitates before kissing her back.

After a minute Logan breaks the kiss. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I thought you were still hung up on Chase."

"Just shut up and kiss me, Logan." Tess pulls Logan tight up against her and kisses him again. His hands start wandering down her body to her hips. Her heart beats faster. Every part of her body screams to her that this is wrong. She freezes. He moves one hand under her shirt now. "I can't do this." Tess tells Logan. She pushes his hand away from her.

"Sorry. I thought you wanted to." Logan tells her.

"I did." Tess sighs. "But I don't know. I changed my mind."

"Because you're still hung up on Chase?"

"Are you mad?"

"Nah. I'm no idiot. I knew you were just trying to make him jealous but hey, I wasn't going to stop a pretty girl from kissing me. I'd be an idiot if I did that." Logan gives Tess a small smile.

"I really like you, Logan. I do. It's just I can't stop thinking about Chase. I'm sorry."

"I get it. You guys just broke up... What?" Logan thinks " Like two weeks ago?"

"Yeah." Tess nods.

"Maybe we can try this again when you're not still hung up on Chase."

"Yeah." Tess nods. "I'm sorry."

"C'mon, let's go back into the dance before they start looking for us." Tess follows Logan back to the dance.

* * *

><p>Noah and Marley are sitting at their table at the eighth grade school dance. Morgan the girl with the spiked hair walks up to them along with three of her friends. "What happened to you the other day, bitch?" Morgan asks Marley.<p>

"Get out of here!" Noah growls at the girls.

"What's the matter?" Morgan sneers. "Your little girlfriend can't take care of herself? She needs you to fight her battles?" Morgan sneers at Noah.

"I can stick up for myself." Marley defends.

"Then where were you, bitch? We was waiting for you to show up for over an hour?"

"I don't fight slime like you." Marley responds.

"You're a little chicken shit." Morgan boasts. "You know I would wipe your face across the parking lot. You were too chicken to show up."

"Bawk...Bawk...Bawk." The other three girls make chicken noises at Marley.

Dylan and Lila walk up to them. "Woof! Woof !Woof!" Dylan barks in Morgan's face.

"Get out of my face, moron!" Morgan snaps at Dylan.

Dylan continues to bark at her.

"Don't insult dogs, Dylan." Lila laughs. "My dog is one hundred times better looking than Morgan."

Marley joins in. "Get out of here, Morgan, with your Wal-Mart dress."

"You think your ass is cool in front of your friends?" Morgan threatens. "I'm gonna get you." Morgan points at Marley before walking away with her friends following behind.

Lila sits down next to Marley. "Don't listen to her, Marles. We'll get her before she gets you."

"How?" Marley asks.

"I'll think of something."

* * *

><p>Andie walks in the bathroom. Tess is checking her makeup in the mirror.<p>

"Did you see that?" Andie asks Tess.

"See what?" Tess looks at Andie through the mirror.

"Nicky through his jacket to me and this other girl tried to grab it. We had a tug of war over it."

"It looks like you won." Tess looks at the white jacket tied around Andie's neck.

"Yeah." Andie sulks. "Except Nicky saw me fight her for the jacket. I'm such a loser."

"Why did you fight for it then?"

"I wasn't going to let that girl have it. I can't stand her."

"Who is she?" Tess asks.

"Her name's Isabel. She's in the drama club with me. She wants to try out for Rizzo in the school play." Andie grimaces.

"So?" Tess looks at Andie through the mirror. "What's wrong with her wanting to try out for Rizzo?"

"_I_ want the part of Rizzo." Andie huffs. "She thinks she should get the part because she has dark hair and I have red hair."

"Doesn't the drama department have wigs?"

"Of course they do." Andie scowls, folding her arms together. "I'm playing Rizzo if it's the last thing I do. She's not gonna get my part!"

"Down tiger." Tess giggles. "I see you don't like her." Tess looks in the mirror and fixes her mascara.

"She wants everything I want."

"Like what?"

"She wants the same part as me in the school play and she wants Nicky. She fought me like an animal for his jacket."

"UGh...Don't get me started on competitive girls." Tess fixes her makeup. "I'm dealing with that too."

"Is that why you broke up with my brother?" Andie asks. "Because of Haili?"

"It started because of Haili but then your father told Chase he wants him to see other people." Tess tells Andie. "And you know Chase, the good boy, must listen to his daddy."

"My father told me the same thing. He wanted me to break up with Nicky and see other people."

"Is that why you and Nicky broke up too?" Tess asks.

"No, I was a bad girl. I didn't listen to my daddy. We broke up because I broke Nicky's trust." Andie tells Tess.

"Did you cheat on him?"

"No, there are other ways to break somebody's trust and I did one of them to Nicky."

"What could you have done that was so bad without cheating on him?" Tess asks.

"I deceived him in a way that would change his life forever."

"Why would you do that?"

"I didn't do it on purpose. I just didn't think."

"What did you do?" Tess asks.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Andie needs someone to confide in. She trusts Tess.

"I promise."

"I stopped taking the pill for four days in a row and had sex with Nicky anyway. He didn't know I was off the pill and _wa-la, _I'm pregnant."

"Holy crap!" Tess covers her mouth with her hand.

"Chase knows but my parents don't so you can't tell anyone."

"Why did you stop taking the pill?" Tess asks, still with her hand near her mouth in shock.

"I couldn't take it. We were at an FBI safe house and I left it home."

"Why didn't you use a condom?"

"We didn't have one. We don't use them." Andie answers.

"Why didn't you tell Nicky you stopped taking the pill before you guys had sex?"

"That's the tricky part and that's why he's mad." Andie answers. "I don't have a good answer. It was New Years Eve. We both were both in the mood. I knew if I told him I missed the pill he wouldn't go through with it."

"So, you took your chances and lost?"

"You got it. I took the risk. He thinks I got pregnant on purpose but I didn't." Andie continues. "I really didn't expect to get pregnant even though I knew it was possible. I wasn't thinking like a responsible person. I was thinking like a dumb kid."

"Your hormones took over." Tess explains. "You got caught up in the heat of the moment. It happens. The first time I screwed Chase we didn't use protection even though we knew there was a chance I could get pregnant. We got lost in the heat of the moment but afterward we were freaking out. Lucky for me, I didn't end up pregnant."

"The difference is both you and Chase knew you were taking the risk." Andie explains. "Nicky thought I was on the pill. He didn't get to decide if it was worth the risk. I decided for the both of us."

"Is that why Nicky broke up with you?"

"That's what the fight was about." Andie brushes her long red hair in the mirror. "He demanded I get an abortion to prove I didn't get pregnant on purpose."

Tess looks at Andie's reflection in the mirror. "You're kidding?"

Andie brushes her hair. "Nope, I refused so that's why we broke up."

Tess hugs Andie. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm okay. It's easier to be broken up with Nicky knowing I have his baby inside me." Andie puts on a smile. "It makes me feel close to him even if we're broken up."

"You're still in love with him." Tess tells Andie.

"I'll always be in love with Nicky, no matter what happens."

Tess just looks at Andie. "Well, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Andie asks. "How about you? How are you handling life without Chase?"

"Promise not to tell?"

"I promise." Andie holds her right hand up.

Tess starts. "I'm miserable without him. I just tried making out with Logan and it was a disaster."

"What happened?"

"I started kissing Logan in the stairway. But when he tried to feel me up all I could think of was how he wasn't Chase. I ended it with Logan. That's why I'm hanging in the bathroom. I can't handle watching Chase with Haili."

"Chase is a fool for listening to my dad." Andie shakes her head.

Tess suggests. "How 'bout _we_ hang out and talk outside until the dance is over so we both don't have to look at our ex boyfriends."

"I'm right behind you." Andie follows Tess through the party room and out to the hallway.

* * *

><p>Noah dances with Marley at the eight grade dance. The dance floor is full. Everyone seems to be having a good time. Lila excuses herself to use the bathroom. "Think she's going to vomit her dinner now?" Marley asks Noah.<p>

"I don't even want to think about that."

After about ten minutes Lila reemerges from the bathroom with a big smile on her face. She runs up to Marley. "I got it." She smiles.

"What did you get?" Marley asks.

Lila explains "Morgan's in the bathroom with her friends. She spilled punch on her dress so she took it off. They were trying to clean the stain out it in the sink and then blow dry it with the hand dryer."

"So?" Marley asks.

"Morgan was in her underwear the whole time. I took this video of her with my phone." Lila plays the video of Morgan in her underwear.

Dylan points at the phone and laughs. "Look she's wearing light pink granny panties and a dirty bra."

Marley watches the video on Lila's phone. "It looks like Morgan's crying?"

"Probably upset she stained her Wal-Mart dress." Dylan chuckles.

Marley, Noah and Dylan all laugh at the video. "She deserves to cry." Marley grits her teeth now. "She stole my Nook tablet and now she wants to kick my ass for wanting to get it back."

"We'll get her first." Lila says. The group laugh and continue to dance.

A few minutes later. Morgan walks out of the bathroom with her friends.

"Nice wet stain on your Wal-Mart dress!" Dylan calls out to her.

"I'm gonna get me one!" She threatens Dylan.

"What? You think you can beat me up?" Dylan laughs.

"I'm gonna get your girlfriend." She sneers at Dylan.

"I don't even have a girlfriend." Dylan laughs.

"I'm gonna get her!" Morgan gestures to Lila.

"I'm gonna get you first." Lila smirks at Morgan.

"You don't know who you're messin' with, bitch!" Morgan threatens Lila.

"No. You don't know who _you're_ messing with, bitch!" Lila yells back.

"I'm gonna get you!" Morgan threatens again before she walks away.

Lila smiles and tells Marley, Noah and Dylan. "_This_ is going on you tube tomorrow morning." She holds up her phone.

Dylan hand slaps Lila. "Oh yeah!"

Marley and Noah snicker.

Cole Jr. and Suzanna come out on the dance floor doing their hip hop dance. It doesn't take long before the dance floor clears and everyone forms a circle around them watching their moves.

"Your brother is a show off." Lila tells Marley. "We saw them do this dance routine at your birthday party."

"Tell me about it!" Marley rolls her eyes.

* * *

><p>The band leaves the stage and the drama club friends say goodbye. Andie walks with Tess to her car which is parked a few spaces away from her own. "Bye Tess." Andie watches Tess get in her car. Andie walks to her car and is surprised to find Nicky waiting for her.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Andie asks, pretending to be annoyed.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"I'm not talking to you." Andie pulls out her keys.

"You put up a good fight for my jacket." Nicky teases with a smile. "Congratulations. I'm glad you won."

"Here! Have it back!" Andie unties it from around her neck and throws it at him. "Why don't you give it to that other girl?"

"I wanted you to have it." Nicky hands the jacket back to Andie. "Keep it."

"What am I going to do with it?" Andie takes the jacket back from him.

"Take it to bed with you at night as reminder of me."

"You're a jerk." Andie throws the jacket onto the passenger seat of her car. She's keeping it.

Nicky puffs on his cigarette before asking her. "How are you doing? You're looking good in that outfit."

"I am good."

"You never told me how the procedure went? Are you okay?"

"I said I'm good." Andie answers, sternly. "Now can you just leave me alone?"

"Did someone go with you?"

"No." Andie answers, she's not lying she tells herself. Nobody went with her because she never had it done.

"You should have called me. I would have went with you. You shouldn't have had to go through that alone."

"Can you just drop it?" Andie tries to open her car door but Nicky holds it closed with his hand.

"Did you have enough money? Did the five hundred cover it?"

"Don't worry about the money." Andie tries to open her car door again. Nicky keeps his arm in front, blocking her from opening it.

Nicky explains. "I wanted to go with you, Belle, I wish you would have called me."

"It doesn't matter." Andie opens her car door. "We're over."

"C'mon Belle. I love you."" Nicky looks in her eyes. "I've been missing you like crazy."

"You called me a dumb kid. You were mean."

"We've already been over this. I said I was sorry." Nicky drops his cigarette on the ground and steps on it. "I was upset you were pregnant. I was mad you didn't tell me you were off the pill."

"I understand why you're mad at me."

"Can we just forget any of this happened and put it behind us?" Nicky tells her. "Tell me what I have to do to get you back."

"It's too late." Andie shoots.

"It's never too late. I'll do the time." Nicky pleads. "Just tell me how long it will take for you to forgive me."

"I can't get back with you." Andie tells him. There's no point in them getting back together, she tells herself, once he finds out she didn't have the abortion he's going to hate her.

"I'm sorry I forced you to have the abortion but it was the right thing to do. We can have a baby in a few years when we're both ready."

"I told you...If you forced me to have an abortion I would never speak to you again." Andie gets in her car.

"Please, Belle, don't do this!" Nicky pleads as she drives away.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW<strong>_


	94. Chapter 94

_A/N: This is a long chapter and it's **Valentine's Day! Happy reading!**_

_**CHAPTER 94**_

* * *

><p>Amelia knocks and enters Drew's hospital room. "Happy Valentine's Day!" She wakes a sleepy Charlotte, Cooper and Drew up. "How's everyone doing today?"<p>

Drew's eyes pop open. He looks around the room. "I wanna go home!"

"Let me examine you first." Amelia takes out her stethoscope.

"Please let me go home. I don't want to be in the hospital for Valemtimes Day." Drew mispronounces the word.

Amelia chuckles before listening to his lungs. "Take a deep breath." She tells the six year old as his parents yawn and stretch. After she finishes listening to his lungs Amelia asks Drew. "So, you want to go home for Velemtimes day, huh?" Amelia repeats his mispronunciation of the word, earning a snicker from Cooper.

"Yeah." Drew answers in a somber voice. "I don't want to be in the hospital for Valemtimes Day. I been here too long."

"I didn't know you had big plans?" Amelia teases. "Who's your Valentine?"

"Yuck!" Drew scowls. "I'm six! I don't have a Valemtime."

Cooper laughs. "Enjoy your freedom as long as you can, Squirt."

Charlotte folds her arms and squints her eyes at Cooper. Cooper quickly back tracks. "But _I_ love having a Valentine. I don't need freedom. Freedom, yuck!" Cooper shakes his head and fakes a scowl.

Amelia squeezes Drew's toes to watch how fast the circulation returns. "You're a big boy, Coop." She looks at Drew's toes and mumbles to herself. "Act like it."

"What?" Cooper asks "I didn't catch the last part."

Charlotte gives Amelia a stern look.

"Nevermind." Amelia doesn't bother to repeat herself. "I don't see any reason to keep Drew cooped up in the hospital any longer. His antibody counts are improving. He looks fine."

"So, you're discharging him today?" Charlotte asks.

"Yep." Amelia fills out the papers.

"Happy Valentines Day, Squirt." Charlotte gives Drew a hug before turning to Cooper. She gives him a very quick peck on the lips because of the audience. "Happy Valentines Day."

"Happy Valentines Day." Cooper smirks. He has a surprise planned for her later.

Charlotte stretches. "It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed again."

"Oh yeeaahhh!" Cooper smirks again. Charlotte looks at him, suspiciously.

"I can't wait to go home and go back to school!" Drew's excited.

"You can't go back to school just yet." Amelia warns. "I want you to rest at home a few more days."

"Ohhhhh." Drew complains.

"Wow!" Cooper looks at Drew. "Since when have you been excited to go to school?"

"I miss the playground and the swings and the zip-line." Drew tells them.

"Ya' didn't actually think he missed the learnin' did ya, Coop?" Charlotte looks Cooper up and down. Truth is Charlotte's just as excited to get back home to be with her husband and family.

Drew goes into the bathroom to change. Amelia tells them. "I signed all the paperwork. You're free to take him home whenever you're ready." Amelia leaves the room.

Charlotte hugs Cooper. "C'mere you."

Cooper hugs her tight. "I can't wait to get you home."

Charlotte nods. "It'll be nice to finally get a good nights sleep in my own bed tonight."

Cooper kisses her neck. "Oh..., you're not going to be sleeping tonight." He says slyly, earning himself a smile from his wife.

* * *

><p>Tess spots Chase across the cafeteria. He's sitting alone at the moment. She decides to make her move, if she's going to do it, <em>this <em>is as good a time as any. She sits down next to him.

"Tess?" Chase is surprised.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"I thought you liked sitting with your new friend, Logan, from the football team?"

"Logan's cool but I want to sit here today."

Haili comes over with her lunch and sits on the other side of Chase. "Mind if I come to your house to study after school today?" Haili asks.

"Uhm…not today, Haili. I already made plans." Chase tells her.

"What are your plans?" Haili asks.

"I'm studying with Tess today after school." Chase raises his eyebrows at Tess to clue her in to go along with him.

"We are?" Tess asks and then smiles at him. "Oh …yeah, we are."

"Happy Valentine's Day." Chase says quietly to Tess.

"Happy Valentines Day." Tess smiles back. She pulls out a heart shaped cookie that says 'I love you' from her lunch bag and hands it to him.

* * *

><p>Tyler accompanies Andie to the free parenting clinic for an ultrasound. Andie lies on the table and watches the screen. "Congratulations, you're ten weeks pregnant." The ultrasound tech announces. She shows them the monitor screen.<p>

"When will I start showing?" Andie asks the tech.

"Many women will notice a bump start to form after about twelve weeks. That's when the uterus grows above of the pubic bone. It's referred to as popping. You'll hear women say they've_ popped."_

_"_Will people be able to tell I'm pregnant then?" Andie asks.

"If you wear tight clothes they might notice a small _bump._" The tech smiles.

"So, if I wear t-shirts or loose shirts they won't?"

"Nope." The tech answers.

"When _will_ people be able to really tell I'm pregnant?" Andie rubs her still flat tummy.

"Your uterus will continue to grow each week. By the time you're twenty weeks or five months pregnant the uterus will have grown up to your belly button. By then it will be pretty obvious."

"So, people won't notice until I'm about five months?" This is good, Andie thinks. She has some time before she has to share her news.

"That's when it will become obvious to most people. Before then people may wonder when they look at you but still have doubts."

"So, I have to start wearing maternity clothes around five months?" Andie inquires.

"Everyone's a little different. It depends on you. Some patients can't wait to start wearing maternity clothes and show off their bump." The tech smiles. "They start wearing them as early as three months along."

"Not me." Andie answers. "I want to wear my regular cltohes as long as possible."

"Your clothes will start to not fit as well after about your twelfth week when your uterus grows above the pubic bone. You may have trouble buttoning your jeans. Women start wearing loose, comfortable clothes about that time. People close to you may notice that you're dressing different."

"Oh." Andie sounds disappointed. "I'm going to try and squeeze into my clothes as long as possible."

The tech adds. "They have some fashionable maternity bands that you can wear over your own jeans."

"They do?" Andie asks.

"You'll want to buy a couple belly bands. They're stretchy bands that you wear over your waist so you don't have to button your pants to stay up. You can keep wearing your favorite pre-pregnancy clothes a lot longer." The tech explains. "And they look stylish."

"Where do I get them?"

"Any maternity store sells them." The tech responds.

"You mean I have to go shopping in a maternity store?" Andie grimaces. She looks at Tyler. "I can't do that. I'll give you money. Can you go get those things for me?"

Tyler looks at her with a grimace on his face. "Me?"

The tech rolls her eyes. "You can always shop over the internet."

Andie doesn't dare shop over the internet. All she needs is for her parents to find a package come from an online maternity store. Andie sighs. "What store has the best prices? I'm on a tight budget."

"There's a place across the street that sells gently used maternity clothes. You can get some great deals there. Their clothes look new since most women don't wear them that long." The tech explains. "They also sell gently used baby clothes once the baby's born."

"Good to know." Andie nods. "So you said I could wear those belly band things up until I'm five months pregnant?"

"Yep." The tech explains. "They stretch so you can keep wearing them but once your uterus reaches your belly button it'll start to grow out. The belly bands can't prevent that."

"But I could wear loose shirts and people may not notice I'm pregnant if I don't get that big?"

"It's possible. Everyone's different. Are you trying to hide your pregnancy?" The tech looks back and forth between Andie and Tyler.

Andie sighs. "I don't want to tell anyone I'm pregnant until I'm sure the baby's healthy."

"I understand." The tech looks at Andie, inquiringly.

"Does the baby look healthy?" Andie asks. "Can you see any defects on the ultrasound?"

"It looks perfect for a ten week old embryo." The tech smiles.

"Are you sure there's no abnormalities?"

The tech answers, "perfect size, perfect heart, perfect spine. I don't see any abnormalities. Are you concerned for any particular reason?"

"Yes." Andie nods her head. "I have epilepsy and I'm concerned about the baby having a genetic disease." Andie doesn't want to tell the tech the baby's father is a blood relative. She's not in the mood. The tech will never understand her situation. She doesn't feel like explaining it right now.

"What genetic disease are you concerned about?" The tech asks.

"I don't know." Andie puts her hand to her forehead and closes her eyes now.

"You should tell her, Andie." Tyler pipes in. "It's important they know what to look for."

Andie scowls at Tyler.

The tech looks at Andie. "We can't help you, sweetie, if you don't tell us everything."

Andie puts her hand back on her forehead. She talks to the tech with her eyes closed. "The kind of diseases the baby can have if the parents are related." Andie grumbles quietly.

"Are you two related?" The tech looks at Tyler.

"No!" Tyler makes it clear. "We're friends _and_ I'm not the father."

The tech asks Andie. "How close of a relative is the father?"

Andie answers with her eyes still closed. "A cousin." She rambles, defensively. "He was my neighbor. I found out he was my cousin after we were already dating. Our parents were adopted as babies and didn't know the were related until...-"

The tech cuts her off. "It's okay, honey, you don't need to explain your family tree to me. We just need to make sure this little guy or gal is okay." The tech smiles.

"Thank you." Andie opens her eyes now and lets a sigh of relief. The tech isn't going to judge or chastise her.

The tech takes Andie's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "We can't pick up everything on an ultrasound. Amniocentesis is a better predictor for chromosomal defects that we can't see on the ultrasound."

"I want one of those." Andie tells her.

"The doctor has to order it. If you tell her your concerns I'm sure she will."

"Can you tell her?" Andie asks the tech, embarrassed to have to explain the situation to yet another person.

"I'll let Dr. Taylor know as soon as we're finished in here." The tech smiles.

"Tell her I want that test done today." Andie says.

"We can't do the test until you're fifteen weeks pregnant and it's expensive if you don't have insurance." The tech tells her.

"I thought this was a free clinic?" Andie asks.

"It's free for your basic pregnancy needs; routine exams, pre-natal vitamins and ultrasounds but not for amniocentesis." The tech explains." Amniocentesis is an optional procedure and it's a surgical procedure, so it's not free."

"How much is it?" Andie asks

"It'll cost you almost two thousand dollars if we do it."

"Wow!" Andie looks at Tyler. "Is it cheaper if I get it done somewhere else?" Andie asks the tech.

"Our price is one of the cheapest you'll find because many of our clients don't have insurance."

"That's still a lot of money." Andie tells her.

"It's a surgical procedure, that's why it cost so much." The tech tells her. "We need to use an operating room, everything needs to be completely sterile."

"Do you do it here in this clinic? I don't have to go to the hospital, do I?"

"We have an operating room here at the clinic. There's no need to do it at the hospital."

"Okay, I want to schedule it for when I'm fifteen weeks. Can you please tell Dr. Taylor? I need that test."

"I'll tell her your concerns." The tech wipes the sono gel off of Andie's belly.

Andie swallows. looking directly at the tech she asks "In your experience have you ever had a case like mine before?"

"Honey, I've worked at this clinic for over twenty years. I've seen it all. We've had young girls come in who were sexually abused and became pregnant by their own fathers or grandfathers, uncles, you name it. We've seen it here."

"Gross." Tyler scowls.

"It's actually sad." The tech corrects Tyler.

"This was nothing like that. This was consensual. He was my boyfriend. I didn't know he was my cousin when we started to date." Andie makes sure she's clear the tech understands she wasn't abused.

"I understand, honey." The tech is sympathetic.

Tyler asks. "In those other cases with the father-daughter abuse, were the babies really messed up?"

"Not always. Some were born healthy and others had issues. You're less likely to have issues if it's a cousin than a father or brother." The tech assures Andie. "It all depends on if you have any genes in common and how they fall."

"My boyfriends's father is Greek. He looks just like his dad. We look nothing alike." Andie tells the tech. "My boyfriend got most of his dad's genes. His mom is the one who's my dad's sister."

"It's still a good idea to have the amnio. Your boyfriend has genes from both his mother and father. His father's genes may just be more dominant."

"I plan to have the amnio." Andie nods.

"You're making a wise decision. It's better to be prepared in case there is a problem."

"Please tell the doctor I want the test."

Tyler looks at Andie. "Where are you going to get the money?"

"I have five weeks to come up with it. I'll get a job."

"Allison works at the pet store. They're always hiring." Tyler offers.

"You didn't tell Allison I'm pregnant did you?"

"No. I told you I wouldn't tell anyone...-"

The tech interrupts them. "I'm going to talk to Dr. Taylor now. Don't go anywhere. She may want to talk to you and explain the procedure." The tech tells Andie as she leaves the room.

"Thank you." Andie smiles.

Tyler faces the wall while Andie pulls off her gown to put her shirt back on. "You can't hide it forever. When are you going to tell your parents and Nicky?"

Andie pulls her shirt over her head. "After I have the amino and find out the baby's okay."

"What if it's not okay? What will you do?"

"I don't know yet." Andie pulls her shirt down. "You can turn around now."

Tyler turns around. "So you plan to hide it another month? They may figure it out by then."

"Why would they? I'll get some of those bands to wear over my jeans so I can wear my regular clothes. I'm not gonna get that much bigger in a month."

"Okay." Tyler shrugs a d raises his eyebrows. "It's your call."

"I need you to be the lookout. You wait outside while I run in that store across the street to buy the belly bands. I don't want anyone to see me in there."

* * *

><p>Drew's resting on the couch when Chase comes home from school. "Look, who's finally home."<p>

Charlotte walks out of the kitchen to greet Chase. "Momma, welcome home." Chase gives his momma a big bear hug. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Good to know I've been missed." Charlotte hugs Chase back. "Happy Valentine's Day, ya' sweet fella."

Andie walks in the door carrying a bag. "Momma, you're home?" Andie stops and looks at her momma with a blank stare on her face.

"Well, don't get too excited about it." Charlotte says sarcastically before hugging her daughter. "Happy Valentine's day, Sweet Pea,"

"I wasn't expecting you and Drew home from the hospital yet."

"Clearly." Charlotte breaks the hug. "What's in the bag?" Charlotte looks at the plastic bag Andie's holding.

"It's my uniform."

"What uniform?"

"I got a job at the pet store. Tyler's friend Allison works there. She said they were hiring. See, it's a polo shirt and khaki's." Andie pulls out the shirt. "That's all." Andie doesn't mention she also stopped by the second hand maternity clothing store. She picked up a few items she may need to wear in a couple weeks.

"What made you decide to go out and get a job?" Charlotte asks.

"I'm going to turn eighteen in the spring. It's about time I got a job and made some money."

"Your father and I prefer you to concentrate on your school work. We've always given you money for what you need."

"I want some spending money of my own, besides I'm only working part time in the evenings and on weekends. They're very flexible at the pet store. They told me I could have time off for rehearsals for drama club."

"But, we won't see you anymore between school, drama club and work." Charlotte frowns a little.

Chase responds, trying to help his sister out. "It's good for her to keep busy, momma. The busier she is the less time she has to think about Nicky."

"Ah, I get it." Charlotte nods. "If that's what you need to do then go with it, Sweet Pea. Oh, by the way Nicky sent you flowers for Valentine's day. I put them in a vase for you. They're on the kitchen table."

"No thanks. You can bring them to a lonely patient at the hospital." Andie tells her momma.

"Okay." Charlotte raise her eyebrows. "If that's what you want."

That's what I want." Andie starts walking up the stairs. "I have to change. I'm going in for training tonight. I get paid for it." Andie's thinking about how long it will take her to save up $1500. She still has the five hundred that Nicky gave her for the abortion but she still needs to come up with the rest. She has less than five weeks. She's volunteered to start right away at the pet store and do as many hours as possible.

Tess knocks on the kitchen door. Chase answers it. "Happy Valentine's Day." Chase hands her a small heart shape box of chocolates. I would have got you something better but I wasn't sure what's going on with you and Logan."

"Thank you, this is perfect. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I wasn't sure what we're doing either." Tess takes off her jacket. "So, when were you going to tell me we had plans to study today?"

"When you sat down to eat lunch with me. Otherwise, I'd be studying with Haili again." Chase rolls his eyes.

"Ah, wasn't Haili challenging enough?" Tess teases. "You needed someone with a brain to study with?"

"Something like that." Chase chuckles. "What made you decide to sit next to me at lunch today?"

"I missed you and it's Valentine's Day." Tess smiles.

"I missed you too." Chase puts his arm around Tess.

She turns around to tell him. "Let's never listen to your father's advice again."

Chase smirks. "My dad's been watching too many re-runs of 'Father Knows Best' on cable. It's this old black and white show."

"You really have been spending too much time with Haili, haven't you?" Tess smirks.

"Why do you say that?"

"Everyone's heard of 'Father Knows Best.' I've even seen a few episodes of it... but I'm sure a ditz like Haili has never heard of it."

"Probably not." Chase leads Tess to the couch.

"Besides, maybe your father does know best." Tess suggests.

"Why?" Chase sits on the couch next to Tess.

"I think taking a break was good for us."

"You do?" Chase's surprised.

"I got to know Logan. He's a nice guy but I couldn't stop thinking about you. It's good that we tried dating other people so we know who we really want."

"I didn't date anyone. I was only tutoring Haili." Chase explains.

"Did you ever kiss her?" Tess asks.

"Her parents paid me to tutor her, not kiss her." Chase sighs. "Did you kiss Logan?"

Tess looks at the floor. "Yeah...but only because I thought you were with Haili. After you danced with her at Dylan and Marley's birthday party I couldn't get it out of my mind. I know Haili was after you even if you don't know that."

"I was never interested in Haili." Chases tells Tess. "She's not my type. You are."

Tess just smiles. She's feeling guilty now.

"Did you do anything else with Logan, besides kissing?" Chase hesitates."Did you go further with him?" Chase swallows and dreads the answer.

Tess answers honestly. "I started to make out with him, but it didn't feel right. All I could think of is how much I missed you. That's why I sat down with you in the cafeteria today. You're the only one I want to be with."

"Good." Chase nods. "I'm glad you sat with me at lunch today. If it took making out a little with Logan for you to realize that then it's okay."

"So, we're good again?" Tess asks.

"We're good again." Chase leans in to kiss Tess.

After a minute, Tess breaks the kiss to tell Chase. "_This_ feels right." She has a twinkle in her eye. "Wanna ditch studying? We can go up to your bedroom and celebrate Valentine's Day and getting back together the proper way." Tess raises one eyebrow up.

Before Chase has a chance to answer. Charlotte folds her arms behind the couch. "That's not happening."

Tess turns to look at Chase's momma. "Oh... hi... Dr. King. I didn't know you were standing there."

"Apparently not." Charlotte smirks.

"How long have you been standing there, momma?"

"Long enough. This is my house, last time I checked I was still payin' the bills. I can stand where I want."

"So, you know Tess and I are back together then?"

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you." Charlotte smiles at them now. "You two better get to studying and stay in _this_ room. Y'all hear me?"

"We hear you." Chase tells his momma. "Thank you, Dr. King." Tess opens up her math book.

Drew comes running into the living room. "Tess is here! I missed you, Tess."

"I missed you too, little buddy. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"I am." Drew pulls out some of his get well gifts to play with.

Charlotte snickers to herself. She knows Tess and Chase won't be able to do much else but study with Drew playing in the same room.

Charlotte walks up the stairs passing Andie who's on her way down the stairs in her uniform. "I'm leaving for work!" Andie announces.

"Cute uniform. Good luck, Sweet Pea." Charlotte gives her daughter a kiss on the cheek.

"Have a great time at your new job." Chase calls out to his sister.

"Congratulations on your new job." Tess says. "If you need anything call me."

"I will." Andie walks out the door.

"What would she need from you?" Chase asks, wondering if Tess knows.

Tess says quietly to Chase. "She told me. I feel bad for her. She doesn't have Nicky. She doesn't want to tell your parents. It has to be lonely and I know all about lonely."

"Not anymore, you've got me." Chase kisses Tess again. "You don't have to be lonely anymore."

Drew chugs his new toy truck around the room. "Vroom! Vroom!" Drew runs over Tess and Chase's feet with the toy.

Tess looks at Chase. "Can we at least go in the kitchen and study?"

Chase picks up his books. "Let's go. But don't try any funky stuff." He teases Tess.

"Who you talkin' too?" Tess swats Chase on the backside. "Sweet lil' ole me?" Tess drags out her Georgia accent. "I'd never dream of it."

* * *

><p>Marley knocks on the door of the Freedman house. "Wassup, Marz Bars?" Noah answers the door.<p>

"Happy Valetine's day. I got you this." Marley hands Noah a box of chocolates.

"Yum." Noah opens the box of chocolates while Marley looks on trying to containing her laughter. Noah takes out a piece of candy and bites into it. "Agh!" He yelps out. Green liquid spills all over his lips.

"Ha ha." Marley laughs. "They're trick candies. They're rubber and squirt green stuff when you bite them."

"You're gonna get it, Marz Barz. I'll get even when you least expect it." He goes into the kitchen and comes back with a few roses from the bouquet Nicky sent Andie. "Happy Valentines Day."

"Thank you." Marley takes the flowers and tries to stick them in her long thick dark hair. "What do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want." Noah shrugs.

"Do you want to watch the video of Morgan in her underwear on you tube? Lila put it up this morning."

"She told me. I laughed my ass off at it." Noah grins.

Marley explains. "Lila put the link on her Facebook page so by now everybody at school has probably seen it."

"Morgan deserves it. She's such a bitch."

"Hopefully this will be the end of her messing with us." Marely sighs.

"Just don't get caught in your underwear." Noah teases Marley. "Or else you and Lila will be on you tube next."

"I'm not taking my clothes off anywhere except my bedroom." Marley assures him. "But I don't plan on going home for a while." Marley sighs now.

"Why?"

"My mother's quizzing Cole Jr and Suzie for the Spelling Bee. I can't take it anymore."

"Why?"

"My mother keeps giving me the evil eye for not entering it."

"Why didn't you enter?"

Marley tosses her jacket onto the couch.

Drew runs his toy car over Marley's feet now. "I see your feeling better." Marley tells Drew.

"I am." Drew looks up to smile at Marley.

"Here, Squirt, have a chocolate." Noah holds out the box for him.

Drew takes a chocolate and bites into it. "Yuck." He spits the green liquid out of his mouth onto the couch.

"Don't spit it on the couch you jerk! Momma will kill us!" Noah yells at Drew.

"I'll clean it up." Marley goes into the kitchen to get some wet paper towels.

"I'm tellin' momma on you." Drew threatens Noah.

"How about if I let you keep the box of trick chocolates. You can give one to momma and daddy." Noah offers Drew a deal.

A big smile grows across Drew's face. He grabs the box of chocolates from Noah and runs upstairs. "Momma, daddy. I have a surprise for you!

"I see things are back to normal around here already." Marley wipes the green spit stains off the couch with the paper towels.

"Yeah. Drew got a ton of gifts when he was in the hospital. The kid's spoiled rotten."

"I guess he deserves it. He could have died." Marley nods.

"I don't want to talk about that anymore. Tell me why you didn't enter the Spelling Bee."

"Only geeks enter the Spelling Bee...-"

Noah interrupts. "Says Lila and Dylan."

"Says everyone who isn't in the Spelling Bee." Marley corrects him.

"That's because they're jealous."

"Who would be jealous of a geek?" Marley scoffs, plopping herself down on the couch. She picks up the PlayStation remote. "Let's play a video game."

"Which one do you want to play?" Noah picks up the other remote.

"Whatever. You decide."

Noah can tell Marley's bothered by not entering. Spelling is one of Marley's best strengths at school. "You should have entered it, Marz Barz. You _won_ the Spelling Bee in sixth grade and you were second runner up in seventh grade. You're better at spelling than your brother _and_ Suzie."

"That's when I was a geek. I'm not a geek anymore." Marley pops a piece of bubble gum in her mouth now. She hands one to Noah.

"Is this a trick?" Noah asks before putting the gum in his mouth.

Marley chuckles. "You'll just have to take a chance and see."

Noah pops the gum in his mouth before telling her. "That's a bad reason not to enter the Spelling bee. It goes in your school record if you win. It could effect your chances of getting accepted into an ivy league college." Noah tries to explain.

Marley rolls her eyes. "It's too late now. I can't enter anymore. The deadline passed." Marley tries to blow a bubble.

Noah shakes his head. "Just be you, Marz Bars. You don't have to act cool and smoke weed for people to like you. I like the dorky Marz Bars."

Marley chews her gum. "Problem is, I like smoking weed. I have the most fun when I'm smoking weed with you, Lila and Dylan."

"I know what you mean." Noah answers while playing the video game at the same time. "I like it too. But we can't do it anymore."

"I know. I know." Marley sighs. "Because we'll get addicted and want to try the other stuff."

"Yep." Noah nods his head while playing the video game.

"'Cept Dylan and Lila are probably getting high right now and we're not. I should've entered the Spelling Bee. I _a__m_ a dork." Marley blows another bubble. It pops over her mouth.

Noah laughs while Marley tries to scrape the bubble gum from around her mouth with her teeth. "Let me help you, dork." Noah puts down his video game controller. He leans in close to Marley pressing his lips into hers. He slides his tongue slowly and firmly around her lips to clean up the bubble gum.

"Wow." Marley looks at him afters he's done. "That felt good. I liked that better than smoking weed."

Noah leans in to kiss her again. Marley wraps her arms around his neck. They get deeper into the kiss, pressing their bodies close together now.

"Ahem!" They both look up to see Charlotte standing over them near the couch.

Noah bounces himself a foot back from Marley on the couch. He looks up at his momma. "Hi." He says sheepishly.

Charlotte has her arms folded "Hi." She answers with a stern look upon her face. "Care to explain what you were doing on _my_ couch?"

Noah answers, defensively. "We were just kissing. There's nothing wrong with that. Is there?"

"Kissing like that? At your age?" Charlotte reponds, her voice showing emotion. "Yes, there is plenty wrong with that."

"Why?" Marley shrugs. "It's just a kiss."

"_That _kind of kissing always leads to more." Charlotte explains. "You're fourteen. You're way too young for what _that_ kind of kissing leads up to."

"We weren't going to do anything else, momma." Noah huffs. "Jeepers, we were only kissing and it _is _Valentines Day and Marley is my girlfriend."

"You say that now, Noah, but if you keep up like that, your hormones will start raging and you won't be able to stop. I had a fourteen year old girl come in my hospital in labor last month."

"Gross!" Marley scowls. "I don't even want to think about that."

"You _need _to think about _that_ before you start kissing like _that_ again." Charlotte warns her.

Noah covers his eyes, embarrassed to be having this conversation with his momma.

"We would never go all the way. Dr. King." Marley assures her. "I promise. I don't even want to do that. It's gross."

"Good. Keep it that way." Charlotte tells them. "I want you to sit a foot apart from each other on the couch." Charlotte tells them before she heads up the stairs. Cooper meets her outside the bedroom door.

"What now?" Cooper asks. His lips are still green.

Charlotte chuckles. "I see Drew got you."

Cooper shakes his head and smiles. "He did. Now tell me why you have that 'I'm going to go swing a cat look on your face.'"

"I just caught Noah and Marley french kissing on the couch. They were holdin' each other _pretty_ close." Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Real close."

"Hmmpf" Cooper thinks. "It's Valentine's Day?" Cooper holds up his arms trying to explain it away.

"Tell me about it, before that I had to throw some water on Chase and Tess for the same thing."

"You didn't really throw water on them, did you?" Cooper scrunches up his face waiting for an answer.

"No, but I will the next time I catch horny teenagers tryin' to make out on my couch."

Cooper chuckles. He loves seeing Charlotte in her protective momma bear mode.

"It's not funny, Coop. Noah's fifteen and Marley's fourteen. If they're kissing like that now, what are they going to be doing in another year."

Cooper screws up his face. "I don't want to think about it."

"We're his parents. We have to think about it."

"What did you say to them?" Cooper asks.

"I lectured them on how it could lead to more. Told 'em I've seen pregnant fourteen year olds at the hospital."

"I'm surprised you didn't offer her the pill." Cooper's voice is a little sarcastic.

"Are you kiddin' me? Jolie would kill me if I put her daughter on the pill."

"She would." Cooper nods and agrees. "But she'd be right. Fourteen is too young. They're still kids."

"I agree it's too young. I only agreed to put Andie and Tess on the pill because they were sixteen and both already having sex."

"At least we don't have to worry about them getting pregnant." Cooper points out.

Charlotte continues. "I don't think we have to worry about Noah and Marley anymore. They're smart kids and I put the fear in them."

"I'm still going to keep my eye on them like a hawk on a mouse." Cooper responds.

Charlotte smacks her lips together into a smile and shakes her head. "I'm sure you will." She moves in closer putting her hands on his hips. "You're a good daddy."

Cooper chuckles. "Noah and Marley aren't having sex until they graduate from college."

Charlotte chuckles back. "I'm surprised you don't make them wait until they're married."

"Don't give me any ideas."

"I'm going to call their school principal tomorrow and offer to do a seminar on safe sex and abstinence." Charlotte tries to open the bedroom door.

"Good idea." Cooper holds his hand across the bedroom door, not letting Charlotte in yet.

"What are you doing, Coop?" Charlotte tries to push his arm away. "Move Coop. I wanna get in the bedroom."

Cooper gives her a sly smile before he opens the door. There's champagne and chocolate covered strawberries on the bedside table. Cornstalks are lying across the bed with red roses strewn over them.

"What's this?" Charlotte's opens her eyes wide, looking at him.

He meets her gaze before explaining. "You're the preacher's daughter. I'm the farmhand." Cooper leads Charlotte to the bed. "It's late. You snuck out to the cornfield to meet me."

Charlotte'e eyes beam. "I did." She pulls him onto the bed with her.

"Happy Valentine's Day." He whispers into her ear.

"It is now." Charlotte pulls off Cooper's shirt and then her own. Clothes start flying around the room. Charlotte presses herself against Cooper, kissing him deep and hungrily. Cooper groans and they get caught up in the heat of it all. After all these years, they've still got it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! <strong>_


	95. Chapter 95

Chapter 95

* * *

><p>Andie comes breezing in the door from work. She sails into the kitchen where her family is eating dinner along with Marley and Tess. "I'm starving." Andie tells them. "Did you save anything for me?"<p>

"There's plenty." Charlotte tells her. "Sit down, I'll fix you a plate."

"How was work?" Cooper puts his spoon down to ask.

"It was okay. I was working in the fish section." Andie lifts the lid off the pot on the stove.

"Sit down. I said I'll fix you a plate."

"What do you do in the fish section?" Drew asks.

"Scoop up fish into little plastic bags for people."

"I wanna fish!" Drew exclaims. "Can you scoop one up for me tomorrow, Andie?"

"NO!" Charlotte's firm.

"Whyyyyy?" Drew whines."You never let me have anything." He pouts.

"Because I'm gonna be the one stuck cleanin' the tank. I've got four kids, two jobs and a dog. That's enough."

Andie drops a small brown bag on the counter.

"What's in the bag?" Charlotte asks while she fills up a plate of food for Andie.

"I got paid today. I get a discount at the pet store so I bought Scout a cool new ball and some dog treats." Andie seems to be in a good spirits today.

"Scout will be happy...-" Cooper chuckles. "That you got a job to buy her more toys and treats." He bites into a piece of garlic bread.

"Scout already has more toys than she knows what to do with." Charlotte puts Andie's plate down in front of her. "Save your money. We'll take care of Scout."

"What are these?" Noah reaches over and picks up a stack of tickets that Andie placed on the counter next to the treat bag.

"Those are tickets to my school play *Grease*. I have to sell them."

"I'll buy some from you." Tess volunteers. "My momma loves Grease. Can I buy four tickets so my parents can go see it with my aunt and uncle?"

"Sure." Andie nods. "You can buy as many as you like."

Marley joins in. "I'll buy some for my mom and her boyfriend and me of course." Marley tells Andie. "Grease is one of my favorite musicals. Who are you playing?"

"Rizzo." Andie answers as she eats her pasta.

"You should have got the lead role." Cooper complains. "You'd make a great Sandy."

"I didn't try out for Sandy." Andie tells them. "I tried out for Rizzo and got the part."

"Congrats!" Tess hand slaps Andie. "So, you beat out Isabel?"

"Yep." Andie spoons some pasta into her mouth.

"Does she hate you?" Tess asks.

Andie swallows her pasta before answering. "If looks could kill I'd be dead right now."

"Ha, ha, ha." Tess laughs. "I'm glad you got the part of Rizzo. You'll be great."

"What made you try out for Rizzo instead of the lead?" Charlotte asks.

"Rizzo's fun _and_ Rizzo only has one solo. Sandy has a lot of solos."

"That's why?" Noah scoffs. "So you only have to sing one solo? Nicky gets up on stage and sings in front of hundreds of people and you're worried about singing in your school play."

"I'm not Nicky." Andie gets up to get more pasta from the pot. "I don't like to sing in front of people."

"It helps if you _can_ sing." Chase says. "Nicky has a good voice."

"I have an okay voice." Andie defends. "Nicky taught me some stuff."

"You have a beautiful voice." Charlotte tells her daughter.

"It's too raspy to sing." Noah tells Andie while stuffing his mouth with pasta. "You probably can't hit the high notes with your rasp."

"A lot of great singers have raspy voices." Tess tells Noah. "Raspy voices are sexy."

"Macy Gray's raspy." Charlotte tells Noah.

"And Stevie Nicks." Cooper tells Andie. "You have a great voice, pumpkin, you'll do great."

"Who's Stevie Nicks?" Noah asks.

"Before your time." Charlotte brings another bowl of pasta and sauce to the table.

Andie takes more pasta from the bowl. She tells them. "Rizzo's solo is easy. It starts out talking and then it turns into singing, I can handle it."

"I remember that part." Charlotte watches Andie eat. She knows Andie's hiding her nerves. "You'll nail it, Sweet Pea."

Noah gets up. He picks up Andie's script book that's sitting on the counter and starts flipping through the pages. "Here it is. It's called, *There Are Worse Things I Could Do.*

"That's it." Andie nods while she continues to eat her pasta.

Noah playfully starts singing Andie's solo.~~~"_I could flirt with all the boys~~~Smile at them and bat my eyes_.~~~"

Marley giggles and grabs the playbook from Noah. She joins Noah, singing~~~ _Press against them when we dance~~~Make them think they have a chance~~~Then refuse to see it through~~~That's a thing I'd never do_.~~"

Everyone at the dinner table laughs, except Andie.

"Let me see it." Chase rises to his feet and grabs the playbook. He sings the next verse ~~~_I could stay home every night~~~Wait around for Mr. Right ~~~Take cold showers every day~~~And throw my life away~~~On a dream that won''t come true~~~There are worse things __I could do._" They all laugh, except Andie.

"I'm glad you all find my solo funny." Andie grumbles.

Tess tells Chase. "This is my favorite part, sing it with me, Chase." They sing together. _"I don't steal and I don't lie"~~~_

They start to get louder while the rest of the table laughs~~~"_But I can feel and I can cry_ ~~_A fact I bet you never knew~~~But to cry in front of you~~~~That's the worst thing I could __do._~~~~~" Everyone laughs.

Charlotte looks over at Andie. She's the only one who isn't laughing. Andie actually looks like she's about to cry. "Are you okay, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte asks.

Chase looks at his sister. "We were just having fun with the song, we weren't making fun of you."

"I'm sorry if we offended you, Andie." Tess adds.

Andie shakes her head. "It's okay."

"What's wrong, Andie Candy?" Cooper asks. "They were just playing around."

"I'm fine. Just put my script book away now. I need it for rehearsal tomorrow."

"I like the song." Drew tries to cheer his teary eyed big sister up. "I'll clap for you even if you sing it bad."

"We'll all clap for you." Cooper makes his voice go real low. "Even if you sing it bad." He teases his daughter.

"She's not gonna sing it bad. Now, leave the kid alone." Charlotte starts to clear the table.

"I didn't mean you would sing it bad, Andie. I know you can sing it good." Drew's still trying to cheer his big sister up.

"Thank you, Drew." Andie smiles at her littlest brother who she knows is trying to cheer her up.

"Doesn't Rizzo sing that song after she finds out she's pregnant?" Marley asks, referring to the play.

"Yes." Tess answers, "But it turns out it was a false alarm."

"But when Rizzo sings the song she thinks she's pregnant, so it's a sad song?" Marley asks.

Tess answers. "Right, because Rizzo told Kinicki it wasn't his baby to let him off the hook, but it really would have been his baby _if_ she turned out to be pregnant."

"But Rizzo sings it really sad because she would be stuck raising the baby alone?" Marley asks. "And Kinicki would be off the hook. He could keep having fun and do whatever he wanted with his life?"

"Wow!" Chase says. "That song is perfect for you to sing, Andie."

Everyone looks at Chase. Andie feels her face turning hot and red.

"Chase!" Tess gives Chase a swift kick under the table.

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Charlotte asks Chase. "Why's that the perfect song for Andie to sing?" Charlotte waits for an answer. The rest of the table is quiet.

Chase's is frazzled. He looks at Andie, this is the perfect opportunity for her to tell them but she doesn't, not in front of everyone. She's not sure how they'll react so she remains quiet. She stares at Chase like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uhm…" Chase feels sorry for his sister. "Uhm.." Chase thinks. He clears his throat and tries to think of a reason. "Uhm... because it starts out talking…" He says quietly, thinking as he goes along, "This way Andie doesn't have to sing that much. ..She doesn't like to sing so this is the perfect song... since you can talk sing it." He looks up at Charlotte to see if she buys it.

Charlotte has her brow furrowed, looking at him.

"What's for dessert?" Tess tries to change the topic. Andie and Chase jump on the bandwagon.

"Yeah, what's for dessert, momma?" Andie asks. "I'm still hungry."

"Me too." Chase nods. "I hope it's something chocolate."

"I want chocolate cake!" Drew calls out.

"Yum! Me too." Tess tries hard to distract Charlotte. "Chocolate cake is my favorite."

Charlotte pulls the cake out of the fridge.

"Yay! We do have chocolate cake!" Drew calls out. "I want the first piece momma! Can I have the first piece?"

"Why should you have the first piece?" Noah protests. "You're the smallest."

"Precisely why he's going to get the first piece." Charlotte answers as she cuts the cake.

"That's not fair." Noah protests. "I get the second piece then."

"Mind your manners, Noah, we have guests." Charlotte scolds.

"We don't have guests." Noah responds. "It's Tess and Marley. They practically live here."

Andie sighs in relief. The distraction worked. Everyone seems to have forgot about Chase's comment. She looks over at her father. Cooper's watching her with a rather serious look on his face. Or maybe not. She wonders to herself.

"You're eating an awful lot lately, Andie." Cooper notices. "Two helpings of dinner plus dessert?"

"Knock it off, Cooper." Charlotte shoots Cooper a disapproving look. "You rather she be like Lila?"

"No, of course not." Cooper takes a piece of cake.

"She lost weight last month with that stomach virus. It wouldn't hurt her to gain a few pounds." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"I agree." Cooper nods and eats his cake. "I just never saw her eat this much at one time before." Cooper turns to face Andie. "You're fine Andie. I didn't mean anything by it and I don't want you to end up like Lila because I made a stupid comment."

"Lila's looking a little better these days." Charlotte passes the pieces of cake around the table. "Violet says she finishes everything on her plate now."

"Lila eats everything and then barfs it all up." Noah scoffs.

"What?" Cooper asks.

"Yeah," Marley nods. "She even eats whatever we leave on our lunch trays, then she goes to the bathroom and barfs it up."

"That's called bulimia." Cooper tells them as they eat their chocolate cake. "I'll talk to Violet about it."

"Don't tell her we told you." Noah warns Cooper. "Lila already thinks we're geeks. If she finds out we ratted her out she'll hate us."

Marley whispers to Noah. "She'll put a video up of us on you tube."

"You're right." Noah chuckles before Marley joins him. They're both laughing now.

"What?" Cooper asks. "Do I have chocolate frosting on my nose?"

"Nothing." Marley giggles. "It's a private joke between me and Noah."

"It's not polite to whisper and tell private jokes at the dinner table." Charlotte corrects. "If you've got somethin' to say you can share it with the rest of us."

"Sorry, Dr King. It won't happen again." Marley apologizes before getting back to her cake.

"I'll figure out a way to tell Violet about Lila without giving you up as rat geeks." Cooper assures at Noah and Marley.

After dinner, Chase and Tess sit on the couch to study. Tess leans in to kiss him. Chase pulls away. "What are you doing?" He asks. "My family is crawling all over this house tonight."

"I love your family. I had fun singing that song at dinner." Tess tells him.

"Too bad Andie didn't think so. She looked like she was ready to cry." Chase answers.

Tess shrugs. "Pregnant people get emotional real easy."

"She should have told my parents. I gave her an opening." Chase shakes his head.

"Did you expect her to tell them in front of Noah, Marley and Drew?"

"I guess not."

"Why did you say that? You almost blew it for her." Tess looks at Chase.

"It's just that Rizzo being pregnant and sucking it up to raise the baby on her own reminded me of what's going on with my sister. Nicky gets to go on with his life like Kinicki would have in the movie if Rizzo was pregnant."

Tess adds. "Kinicki came around in the end and asked Rizzo to marry him. He said he wanted to make an honest woman out of her."

"Maybe Nicky will come around and be there for my sister."

"I don't know." Tess shakes her head. "Nicky thinks Andie had an abortion already."

"It would be great if everything worked out for my sister like it did for Rizzo in the movie."

"Maybe that's why Andie wanted that part so bad. She can relate to Rizzo."

"And I almost gave it away." Chase rubs his head.

"It was fun watching you try and talk your way out of it to your momma."

"Do you think she bought it?" Chase asks.

"I don't know. Maybe Andie should just tell her. She's going to have to do it eventually and it's going to get harder the longer she waits." Tess opens her history book.

"I gave her the chance, she didn't take it." Chase opens his book.

"You can only do so much to help somebody." Tess advices him. "Andie's gotta help herself too."

* * *

><p>Charlotte's phone buzzes. "I gotta go into the hospital for a little while. The ER is getting slammed with emergencies this evening."<p>

Cooper kisses Charlotte. "Don't worry, Chief. I can hold down the fort."

Cooper looks at Andie. "What do you want to do? Clean the dinner dishes or help Squirt catch up on all the school work he missed when he was in the hospital?"

"I'll take the dishes." Andie answers.

"Smart answer." Cooper hands her the dish towel. "You'll be done a lot sooner than me."

"Have fun." Andie rinses the dishes in the sink. She thinks of how to break the news to her parents gently. She's afraid it will break their hearts.

* * *

><p>Charlotte arrives at the ER. "What's going on tonight? Is it a full moon?" She looks around at the busy emergency room. There are several young teenagers waiting in the hall crying. "What's that about?" Charlotte asks a nurse.<p>

"They just brought a fourteen year old girl in. She tried to commit suicide by overdosing on her mother's painkillers." The nurse hands Charlotte the chart.

"Poor kid." Charlotte looks at the chart while shaking her head. "What could be so bad for a fourteen year old to want to take her life."

"Some kids posted a video of her in her underwear on you tube. One of them posted it on their Facebook page. The whole school had access to it in a matter of minutes." The nurse explains.

Charlotte huffs. "What kids won't do to each other today." Charlotte puts her lab coat on and walks in the room to check on the spiky haired girl. Her parents are sitting in the room crying while the ER doctors pump the girls stomach and start an IV. "I'm Charlotte King, the Chief of Staff. I need you to come outside and talk to me."

The crying parents follow Charlotte into a waiting room. "Will Morgan be okay?" The mother asks Charlotte.

"They're pumping her stomach now. How long ago did she take the pills?" Charlotte asks the mother.

"I don't know. Morgan's friend told me she called her after school to tell her about a video of her on you tube. She must have swallowed them sometime after that." The mother wipes her tears off her cheeks.

The woman cries. "Why do these kids have to be so mean? Morgan's friend Gabrielle told us they took the video of Morgan at the school Valentine's dance."

The mother finishes the explanation. "Morgan spilled punch on her dress. I just bought her that dress. It cost us fifty dollars. I know that doesn't sound like much but it's a lot of money for us. My husband was laid off work and doesn't have a job. We bought Morgan the dress and told her to take care of it so her sister could wear that same dress for a sweet sixteen party next month. That's why she took it off to get the stain out. She was afraid we would be upset at her for ruining the dress."

The father adds. "Plus, she lost her Nook that the school issued her. We had to pay the school for a new one. Morgan knows our financial situation is not good. It's been a huge stress on her."

The mother cries. "And on top of it these mean kids have to go and put a video of Morgan in her underwear on you tube for the whole world to see."

Charlotte shakes her head. "That's awful. I have children that age myself." Charlotte rubs the woman's back to offer comfort.

"Will Morgan be okay?" The mother asks Charlotte again.

"My staff will do everything we can to make sure she is. Morgan is going to need to see a therapist. She tried to kill herself." Charlotte tells the parents.

"I lost my medical insurance when I was laid off. We can't afford that." The father explains.

"Morgan's going to need it." Charlotte tells the father. "The next time she attempts suicide she may succeed."

"We'll get her therapy." The mother cries. "Can you recommend one that will be willing to work with our financial situation?"

"We'll work with you on that." Charlotte nods. "I recommend Dr. Violet Turner as Morgan's therapist. She's great with teens. She's raised a son and has a fourteen year old daughter herself."

"Thank you." The father shakes Charlotte's hand.


	96. Chapter 96

_**CHAPTER 96**_

* * *

><p>It's two weeks later and the opening night of Andie's school play Grease. Noah and Dylan skateboard in the driveway while they wait for everyone to get ready to leave for the play. Marley and Lila sit on the grass alongside the driveway watching. Lila pulls a joint out of her pocket. "You're getting daring. What if Dr. King or Dr. Freedman come out of the house?" Marley asks.<p>

"Then I'll stick it in my pocket." Lila lights up the joint. "You want a drag?" She asks Lila.

"No thanks. Dr. King caught me french kissing Noah on Valentine's day. She was pretty mad about it. I don't want a take a chance of her catching me with a joint."

"Why was she so mad you were kissing Noah? He's your boyfriend."

"She thinks if we kiss like that we must want to have sex." Marley looks up to see Suzie walk over.

"Wanna try some?" Lila offers Suzie the joint.

"No thank you. I don't smoke. Mind if I sit with you guys? I'm waiting for my brother to pick me up to go see Andie's play."

"Have a seat." Marley scoots over to make room.

Lila continues the conversation. "Was Dr. King right? Are you planning to have sex with Noah?"

"No!" Marley scoffs. "I'm not anywhere near ready for sex. If you really think about it, sex is disgusting."

"Why?" Lila puffs on her joint.

"Think about it. A guy pee's out of his _thang_. I don't want him sticking his _thang_ in me if he uses it to pee." Marley grimaces. "That's disgusting."

"It is kinda gross if you put it that way." Suzie adds.

"I'd make the guy take a shower first and scrub himself clean." Lila nods.

Suzie tells them. "I've heard stories that it hurts for the girl the first time. This girl at school said she was screaming her brains out but I think she was making it up. I don't think she even had sex yet."

"I heard there's a lot of blood the first time. That's how you know if the girl's a virgin." Lila boasts.

"Good grief! I don't think I ever want to have sex." Marley grimaces at the thought of blood and pain.

Andie walks out of the house towards her car to leave for her school play. "Hey Andie!" Lila calls out. "We have a question for you." Lila shoves her joint in the pocket of her sweater.

"Make it quick." Andie tells them. "I have to be at the school an hour before the play opens to get ready." Andie looks at her watch.

"Does sex hurt?" Lila blurts out. She's a little high.

"Huh?" Andie's surprised at the question.

Marley explains. "We were just wondering if sex hurts the girl? Is there a lot of blood?"

"Don't they teach you about this in health class in seventh grade?" Andie snarls up her lip. "We had a month of classes about it when I was in seventh grade. My mother even came in to guest speak."

"You can't believe everything they say in health class." Lila shrugs. "They don't want to tell you about all the pain and blood to scare you."

"Actually, they should want to scare you." Andie cackles to herself. "Then more of you would want to wait."

Lila looks at Andie. "You've done it. You have experience, so we want to know from you. Does it hurt?"

"No." Andie screws up her face. She wasn't expecting to have this conversation. "It's a little uncomfortable the first couple times until you get used to it but it's not painful. It wasn't for me anyway."

"That's because your first time was with my brother." Suzie adds. "Nicky's a nice guy. He probably took it easy on you."

Lila asks Suzie. "Why would you even want your first time to be with a rough dude?"

Suzie shakes her head at Lila. "I don't. I'm dating Cole Jr. He's as gentle as they get."

"Are you having sex with my brother?" Marley snarls her nose.

"No. I just mean Cole is a gentle dude in general." Suzie looks up at Andie again. "So, the dude has all the fun?" Suzie asks. "While the girl feels uncomfortable?"

"No, not at all. That's not what I'm saying. Sex is great. It's the best feeling in the world once you know what you're doing. It gets better with time." Andie explains. "It feels incredible once you know what you're doing."

The three fourteen year old girls all stare at Andie waiting for more info.

Andie thinks twice about what she said now. "But you guys are too young for sex. You should wait until you're eighteen and out of high school."

"You didn't." Lila points out. "You're not eighteen yet _and_ you're still in high school."

"I was almost seventeen the first time I had sex and I'm not a good example anyway."

"Why not?" Suzie asks.

Andie shrugs not wanting to tell them the real reason. "Nicky and I are broken up now. It wouldn't have killed me to wait until I graduated high school. Things could happen too. Some girls end up getting pregnant in high school and that changes your whole life."

"Do you regret having sex with my brother?" Suzie asks.

"I'm just saying it wouldn't have killed me to wait a little longer." Andie looks at her watch. "I gotta go." Andie gets in her car.

"Andie's still hung up on your brother." Lila tells Suzie while she pulls the joint back out of her pocket.

"My brother's still hung up on her too. That's why he's coming with me to watch her in the play tonight." Suzie explains.

"I wonder why they broke up." Marley says before adding. "Sex can't be that great if they were having it and still broke up."

"I don't know." Lila puffs on her joint. "Andie did say it was the best feeling in the world."

Marley argues. "She also said she should have waited. She regrets starting so young."

Suzie changes the topic. "Did you hear Morgan tried to kill herself because someone posted a video of her in her underwear on you tube?"

Marley and Lila lock eyes with each other. "Give me the joint." Marley grabs the joint and takes a quick puff before giving it back to Lila.

Suzie continues. "She overdosed on sleeping pills. They had to pump her stomach at the hospital."

Marley and Lila remains silent. They listen to Suzie as they pass the joint back and forth.

Suzie keeps talking. "I can't believe someone would do that. It's so mean. Anyone could see it."

Lila can't listen anymore. "Can you please stop talking about that? It's depressing." Lila tells Suzie.

"Okay." Suzie nods. The girls all stay quiet in their thoughts while they stare at Noah and Dylan riding their skateboards.

* * *

><p>Andie's waiting to walk on stage for her solo in the school play *<em>Grease.*<em> She's twelve weeks pregnant now. The morning sickness is gone, she's not showing yet. Her clothes still fit but she feels a little bit bloated and she finds herself constantly having to pee. She just finished a scene of the play in which her character, Rizzo, is smoking. Luckily, the drama club teacher gave them fake cigarettes so she didn't really have to smoke. She thinks back to the time Nicky tried to teach her to smoke at Lucas's party and how she was coughing and choking on the smoke. She looks out into the audience. Everyone is there. Her parents are sitting in the front row with Chase, Tess, Noah, Marley and Drew. Violet and Pete are sitting a few rows behind them with Lila and Dylan. Tyler brought Allison with him.

Andie's getting ready to sing her solo, *There Are Worse Things I Could Do.*

Andie's hands begin to tremble and feel sweaty. She's not used to singing publicly. She looks at all the people in the audience. She doesn't know how Nicky does it, but then again Nicky has an awesome voice. The drama teacher tells her she's on and she takes her spot on the stage. They shine the spotlight on her. She inhales deeply and decides to start out singing the song with her eyes closed. She starts singing and after a minute when she doesn't hear anyone laughing or gasping at her, she opens her eyes to take a peek at the audience to see if they're still there. She sees her parents watching intently. It makes her nervous. She wonders if they suspect she's pregnant. They're both doctors after all. She changes her focus and looks elsewhere in the crowd. She looks straight down the middle aisle and then she sees him.

Nicky Poulos is sitting in an aisle seat watching her sing up on stage. He's sitting next to his sister, Suzanna and Cole Jr. She can't take her eyes off him. He looks adorable in the green sweater she gave him as a Christmas gift. She never got a chance to see him wear it but it looks awesome on him. Nicky gives her two thumbs up for encouragement and even though they're broken up it helps her relax knowing that he's there. It's weird, she thinks, but it's actually comforting for her to look at him while she sings. She loses her stage fright now. Maybe it's because he's smiling at her. She sings her last few lines loud and with confidence. She looks right at Nicky when she sings them:

~~I don't steal and I don't lie~~

~~~But I can feel and I can cry~~

~~A fact I'll bet you never knew~~

~~~But to cry in front of you~~~

~~That's the worst thing I could do~~~

After she's belts out the last line, the audience stands up and claps for her. Nicky gives her a "Woot Woot." She smiles back at him. It feels good and for a few minutes she forgets she's pregnant. She wants to take him back so bad but she can't because she _is_ pregnant and he doesn't want her to be. Chase was right, the part of Rizzo was perfect for her. She leaves the stage feeling good about her performance.

After the show ends, Charlotte hands her a bouquet of flowers. "Thank you, momma." Andie sniffs the flowers.

"You did great." Cooper hugs her. "You're a star."

"Thanks, daddy."

"Good job!" Chase takes a turn to hug his sister. "I told you Rizzo was the perfect part for you."

"It was." Andie agrees with a smile.

"How about we all go out for some ice cream? My treat!" Charlotte offers.

"Yay! Ice cream." Drew shouts.

"I'll meet you there." Andie tells the group.

"Okay. We'll save a seat for the star." Cooper tweaks Andie's nose.

Andie walks to her car and finds Nicky waiting for her. "You were amazing, Belle. You nailed it. I'll have to let you join us up on stage." He jokes. She was good but not good enough to sing in his band.

"What are you doing here?" Andie asks. "How did you know?"

"Suzanna told me you were in the play so I had to see it. You make a good Rizzo."

"Thanks."

"Do you feel like going out somewhere to celebrate?" Nicky asks.

"I can't. I'm meeting my family for ice cream now." Andie tells him.

"I like ice cream." Nicky smiles. "Can I tag along?"

"That's not a good idea. We're broken up."

"Friends eat ice cream with friends." Nicky gives her an adorable smile that makes it hard to say no.

"It's still not a good idea. I'm not ready to be just friends with you."

"Are you still mad because I asked you to have the abortion?"

"You didn't ask me, Nicky, you ordered me to do it." Andie accuses. "You told me to do it to prove I didn't get pregnant on purpose."

"It was for your own good, Andie, you're too young to have a kid." Nicky explains. "You should be having fun in high school and then go to college. You shouldn't have to worry about taking care of a baby."

"It would be _our_ baby, part of me and part of you. As soon as I knew I was pregnant I started wondering-will it be a boy or girl? Will it look like me or you? I didn't want to destroy _our_ baby"

"And you hate me now because I made you destroy _our_ baby?" Nicky looks at the ground. He looks guilty, like she just struck a nerve.

"I don't hate you, Nicky, I could never hate you but the way you acted after we found out I was pregnant was mean."

"Did you expect me to be happy about it?"

"No, you had every right to be mad at me for not telling you I was off the pill but forcing me to have an abortion, I can't forgive that."

"I'm sorry. I want you to forgive me. Tell me what I need to do."

"I can't do this now." Andie tells. "I have to meet my family for ice cream." She quickly gets in the car so he doesn't see her start to cry. She pulls away leaving him standing alone. She wipes the tears that are falling down her cheeks. She wonders how he would react if she told him that she never had the abortion. Would he still want her back?

Andie meets her family at the Ice Cream Shoppe. Tyler's there with Allison.

"You were great in the play." Allison hugs Andie and gives her a little kiss on the cheek. Andie looks at Tyler wondering why Allsion is suddenly being nice to her. Did Tyler spill the beans about Andie being single and pregnant or is Allison just happy that she and Nicky are broken up.

"Thank you." Andie responds politely while still looking at Tyler in search of an answer. She'll have to ask him another time.

Andie orders her ice cream before sitting down with her parents and Drew.

"Wait a minute." Cooper looks at her. "You're actually going to sit with us instead of Tyler?"

"He's with his girlfriend, dad. I'd be the third wheel." Andie takes a spoonful of ice cream. It tastes good. She's had a craving for mint chocolate chip ice cream all week.

"Why not sit with Chase and Tess?" Charlotte asks while eating her own ice cream.

"Same thing, momma, third wheel." Andie takes another spoonful of ice cream. "Why? Don't you want to sit with me?" Andie teases. "I thought I was your star?"

"You were a star, Andie." Drews tells her while he licks his ice cream cone. "Did you hear me clapping for you? I was the loudest one."

"I heard you clapping, Squirt." Andie humours her little brother.

After a few more minutes Nicky walks in the Ice Cream Shoppe with his friend Cody from the band.

"Look who the wind blew in." Charlotte says. Cooper and Andie both turn their heads to look as Drew calls out. "It's Nicky!"

Andie's face turns bright red. "Drew! Why'd you do that?" Andie scolds her little brother.

"What? I just said '_It's Nicky.'" _Drew answers innocently.

"Yeah, but he heard you." Andie scoffs.

Nicky and Cody stop by Andie's table. "Hi Andie." Cody says first. "I heard you nailed the solo in your school play. We'll have to let you come up and sing with us on stage one day."

"I wasn't that good." Andie answers. "Nicky exaggerates." She can feel ice cream drip down her chin. She quickly wipes it away with her hand.

"Here. Use a napkin, Andie Candy." Cooper wipes Andie's face. Andie's face turns lobster red with embarrassment.

"Stop it, daddy. I can wipe my own face." She scoffs and pushes Cooper's hand away.

"I was just helping." Cooper softly defends himself, realizing he just embarrassed his teenager daughter in front of her ex and his friend.

"This is why I don't like to sit with you in public." Andie grumbles to her parents.

"You wanted to sit here." Charlotte says before spooning more ice cream in her mouth. "We warned you."

"You can sit with us." Nicky offers.

"Why are you here anyway?" Andie snaps.

"What?" Nicky teases. "We like ice cream too."

"You came here because I told you I was going out for ice cream with my family." Andie grumbles while eating her ice cream. Her parents look on quietly. "Why did you drag Cody along?"

"Come sit with us and we'll talk as friends, me, you and Cody." Nicky tells her.

"Fine." Andie grumbles and gets out of her seat. Cody goes up to order the ice cream. Andie sits at a table far across the room from Charlotte and Cooper. "Did you tell Cody?" Andie asks Nicky.

Nicky looks down at the table. "Okay, I may have told Cody, he's my best friend. I'm sure you told Danielle."

"I did." Andie nods.

"Does Danielle think I'm evil too, like you do, because I asked you to have an abortion?"

Andie glares at Nicky. "You ordered me to have it and I don't want to talk about that now especially with my parents in the same room."

"Understood." Nicky agrees. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I distinctly remember telling you that I would never speak to you again about anything if you made me go through with the abortion."

"Eh...Eh...Eh..." Nicky waves his finger at her. "Remember we're not allowed to talk about it with your parents in the same room." Nicky changes the subject. "Allison and Tyler look pretty chummy over there."

Andie turns to look. "Yeah, they do. I'm happy Tyler found someone."

Nicky nods. "Yep."

Cody walks over to the table with two ice cream cones. He hands one to Nicky. Andie giggles to herself.

"What's wrong?" Cody asks. "Do I have ice cream dripping down my chin?"

"No." Andie laughs. "It's just that I could never in a million years picture the two of you going out for ice cream together. You two belong at a bar not an ice cream shoppe."

"What?" Nicky smiles. "We're human. We like sweet creamy stuff just as much as anyone else." Nicky licks his ice cream cone. Andie watches him. She misses being with him so she'll take this night out for ice cream with him.

"Did Nicky tell you we're opening for the rock group _~Budgies_ 5 ~ in Chicago next month?" Cody asks.

Andie's face drops. "No. Nicky didn't tell me that."

"That's because we don't talk anymore, Belle." Nicky takes another lick of his ice cream cone. "Besides, I didn't think you would care."

"The ~Budgies 5~ new album is in the top ten of the pop charts this week. How did you get a deal to open with them?" Andie's surprised.

"Lucky break. They were in LA last month and happened to have dinner at Giorgio's. They liked us and asked us if we'd be interested in opening for them in Chicago." Cody explains. "We said yes."

"I'm sure you guys jumped at it." Andie sighs. "This could be your big break to get your name out there."

Nicky nods. "And we're going to be on *Late Night LA* next week."

"How did that happen?"

"We hired a publicist. She she got us the gig. Pretty sweet, right?" Nicky licks his cone. "I told you this was the year I wanted to get the band off and running."

"Yeah." Andie feels sad. She knows she should be happy Nicky's band is finally taking off but instead it makes her sad. Even tough they're broken up she doesn't want him to go to Chicago and leave her in LA. "How long will you be in Chicago?" Andie asks.

"Just a week." Cody answers. "We'll be there the week of the *Budgie's 5* concert."

Andie feels better. She can handle one week with Nicky out of town.

Charlotte and Cooper approach the table. "We wanted to say goodbye. We're heading home. Drew needs to get to bed."

"Wait." Andie scoots out of the seat. "I'm done. I'll come with you."

"Bye, Belle." Nicky gives a little smile.

"Bye." Andie gives him a little wave. "Bye, Cody." Andie says before walking away with her parents and Drew.

"Tell me you're not getting back together with him?" Cooper asks as he opens the door to let them out of the ice cream store.

"Don't worry, daddy. We're not getting back together. They were just telling me about their band. They're opening for the *Budgies 5* in Chicago next month."

"No, kidding?" Cooper says as they walk to their cars. "Maybe you should get back together with him. The *Budgies 5* are pretty well known."

Charlotte nudges Cooper. "Coop?"

"I'm just saying the *Budgie 5's are big." Cooper rubs his fingers together like he's holding money and chuckles.

Andie gets in her car. "I'll meet you at home." She tells her parents. All she can think about on the drive home is Nicky. She wants to get back together with him so bad but what about the baby? What's he going to think of her when he finds out she's still pregnant. "OY!" She looks at herself in the rear view mirror. She gets on her Bluetooth to call Danielle for advice.

**_REVIEW!_**


	97. Chapter 97

_**CHAPTER 97**_

* * *

><p>Violet leans foward in her favorite office chair and asks in a soft tone, "Why did you take those pills, Morgan?"<p>

The fourteen year old girl with the spiky black hair snips. "I wanted to end it. You already know that, Dr. Turner, or didn't you get the memo?"

Violet keeps her voice soft. "Do you still want to end it?"

Morgan looks at the floor and turns up her lip. "No."

"Why not?" Violet asks. "What's changed?"

"Nothing's changed." Morgan grumbles, annoyed. She's well aware Violet's Lila's mother.

"Then why don't you want to _end it_ anymore?" Violet sits back in her chair. "Something must have changed since you tried to _end it_ last week by swallowing your mother's sleeping pills?"

"If I died that way it will devastate my parents for life. I don't want to do that to them. It's not their fault."

"Whose fault is it?" Violet asks.

"Mine." Morgan admits.

Violet leans foward again. "What about the kids who put the video on you tube? Isn't it their fault?"

"I hate them for doing it. I hope they all crash into a tree and die." Morgan hesitates. "But I started the fight. That's why they did it to me and not anyone else."

"How did you start it?"

"I told them I would kick their asses and drag their faces across the parking lot. They were scared to fight me so they did this instead."

"Why did you want to fight them?"

Morgan takes a breath before telling Violet the story. "I lost my Nook that the school issued. The school made our parents sign a form in the beginning of the year that if we lost or damaged our Nook we would have to pay full price to replace it with a new one."

"Yes." Violet nods. "I had to sign that form for my daughter, Lila. You do understand why? The school can't afford to buy new Nooks every year."

"My parents can't afford to pay for a new one so I took this girl's. Her parents could easily buy a new one so I took hers. She told the teacher on me. I had to apologize to her in front of the whole class _and_ I got detention. And my parents had to pay the school for a new Nook. It's not fair. I hate those rich kids."

"Life isn't fair, Morgan." Violet leans in to talk quietly. "But you didn't have the right to steal from that girl. It wasn't the other girl's fault that you misplaced your Nook."

"It's just not fair." Morgan sighs. "They made fun of my dress. They called it a Wal-Mart dress." Morgan starts to get teary eyed. "Is my life always going to be like this? Will it ever get better?"

"Yes, it will." Violet assures her.

"How can you say that?" Morgan lets a few tears escape. "You don't know that."

"Life changes all the time for all of us. New chances and opportunities come along. Your father will find a job but _your_ job is to study hard and do well in school so you can have a good job one day."

Morgan wipes her tears. "They put the video of me in my underwear on you tube. I was wearing old underwear. If I knew they were going to do that I would have worn something that looked good on me, not that I could afford anything like that."

"Who put the video on you tube?" Violet asks.

"It doesn't matter. They deleted it now." Morgan answers.

"It does matter. People saw the video they posted."

Morgan wipes her tears. "Probably the whole school. One girl put the link it on her facebook. News travels fast at school."

"What's the girl's name?" Violet hands Morgan a tissue.

"It's only going to make things worse if I tell you. Besides, I already told you, they deleted it."

Violet explains."What those kids did was illegal. They can't post a video of you without your permission." Violet informs.

"So, you want me to have them arrested?" Morgan looks at Violet. Morgan is well aware Lila is Violet's daughter. She had no other choice to see Violet as her therapist since Violet worked out a payment plan with her parents at a discounted rate.

"These students need to be held accountable for their actions so they don't do it to someone else."

Morgan wipes her nose. "I can't tell you their names. It'll only make my life worse."

Violet drops it for now. "What about school? Your mother says you don't want to go back to school?"

"Would you want to go back if everyone saw you in your old ugly underwear?"

Violet sighs. "You're going to have to go back."

"I can't face everyone and my parents can't afford to send me to private school."

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Violet pats Morgan on the knee. "I'm going to teach you some coping stategies to deal with those bullies so you'll be able to return to school feeling confident."

Morgan stares at Violet. She wonders what Violet would think if she knew _her _daughter was the one who posted the video on you tube. She's not so sure.

* * *

><p>Charlotte walks in the kitchen with her coffee. Amelia's eating lunch. "How are you Charlotte?" Amelia asks.<p>

"I'm good." Charlotte answers. "It's nice to be back at work."

"How's Drew doing?" Amelia asks.

"Much better, he's back to bouncing off the walls. You'd never know he was hooked up to a ventilator fighting for his life a few weeks ago."

Violet walks in the kitchen now. "How goes it?" She opens the refrigerator and takes out a little brown lunch bag.

"How's Morgan doing?" Charlotte asks Violet.

"She refuses to go back to school and she won't give me the names of the students who posted the you tube video." Violet bites her sandwich.

"Can't you have the authorities trace who posted it?" Charlotte asks.

"I told Morgan and her parents that but Morgan refuses to press charges or name the kids."

"Why is she protecting these bullies?" Charlotte asks.

Violet shakes her head. "She's afraid they'll do something worse next time."

"When is she going back to school?" Charlotte worries.

"The school provided her with a tutor until I clear her to go back." Violet tells Charlotte. "I'm going to have to clear her sooner or later. She's going to have to go back and face these kids."

"Maybe you should send Lila over to make friends with her." Charlotte suggests. "They're the same age and go to the same school."

"I suggested that to Lila but she shut me down. She didn't want to talk about it." Violet sips her tea.

"Same thing with Dylan." Amelia tells them. "He doesn't want to talk about what happened to Morgan and believe me Sheldon has tried but it's like pulling teeth to get Dylan to talk."

"One of their own trying to commit suicide scares them. Noah didn't want to talk about it either." Charlotte tells her friends.

Addison walks in and joins the conversation. "Kids that age think they're invincible. When someone their age dies or almost dies it makes them think about their own mortality and that's scary."

"I guess that's it." Amelia eats a potato chip.

"How is Lila doing with her eating disorder?" Charlotte fishes for information.

"It's been rough." Violet sips her tea. "Of course she denies that she's bulimic. Pete and I watch her binge and then disappear into the bathroom."

"Isn't she seeing Alexis for therapy?" Amelia asks.

"She is but Lila needs to want to stop and right now she doesn't." Violet explains.

"How's Andie doing?" Amelia asks Charlotte.

"Andie's doing well." Charlotte says. "I can't believe she's turning eighteen in a few months."

"How's she feeling?" Amelia asks. "Is she feeling good?"

Charlotte shrugs "She's feeling fine. Why?"

Amelia realizes that Andie hasn't told Charlotte about the pregnancy yet. "Well, she was pretty sick before she had the seizure."

"That was some flu that Drew and Andie had. It wiped them both out." Charlotte eats her yogurt.

Addison tells Charlotte. "I spoke to Danielle last night. She'll be home for Andie's graduation this May."

"Great Andie will be happy."

Addison continues. "Danielle and Andie were on the phone last night. I have a time share in Switzerland. Danielle asked if she could stay there for a few weeks in the summer with a few friends."

"You mean Andie?" Charlotte looks at Addison.

"Andie, Tyler, Lucas. I told her if she kept her grades up at Yale I would let her stay there. I wanted to see if you would be willing to let Andie go."

Charlotte eats her yogurt. "It could be her graduation present. She's doing well in school and she's working, doing drama club. The kid deserves it."

Addison continues, "They were talking about staying at the time share for two weeks and then seeing if they could use Cole and Jolie's timeshare in Italy for another two weeks and after that, of course, the girls want to go to Paris."

"Of course." Amelia smirks.

Addison continues to explain to Charlotte. "It would be a total six weeks in Europe over the summer vacation. Do you think that's too long?"

"I'm okay with that." Charlotte says. "It'll be an experience of a lifetime to visit all those places before she has to hunker down and go to college in the fall."

"Good." Addison nods. "I'll reserve the time share for them for two weeks and I'll see if Jolie's willing to reserve hers for them too since Tyler will be with them."

"So, wait?" Amelia thinks. "Andie's going to be gone for six weeks over the summer?"

"Along with Danielle." Addison tells her. "They're best friends, who better to tour Europe with than your best friend at their age?"

"Oh," Amelia nods. She's a little concerned since Andie will be in her third trimester over the summer.

"Why do you look so worried?" Charlotte asks Amelia.

"I'm not." Amelia shrugs. "Just make sure Andie knows where the closest hospital is in case she has a seizure."

"Of course." Charlotte tells Amelia. "Andie's done a great deal of maturing this year. I trust her to take care of herself."

"Okay then." Amelia debates whether she should tell Charlotte that her daughter is pregnant.

* * *

><p>Andie eats with Tyler. "I don't know what to do," she tells him.<p>

"About what?" Tyler asks.

"I have the amniocentesis in two weeks. I'll only have one thousand five hundred saved up. I still need five hundred more dollars."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Do you have any money you could lend me?" Andie asks.

"I don't have a job." Tyler tells her. "I get my spending money from my parents. I can't ask them for five hundred dollars without a good reason."

"Who can I ask?"

"Ask Nicky, he works." Tyler suggests.

"He's going to want to know what it's for."

"Tell him you want to be reimbursed for the cost of the abortion. Tell him he has to pay you."

"He already gave me five hundred for it. Plus, then I'm lying. I never actually told him I had the abortion." Andie says. "He just assumes I did."

"So, does he really believe you had the abortion?"

"Yup. When we broke up I told him I would have the abortion but I'd never speak to him again. I haven't been speaking to him unless he forces me too, like showing up at my school play or the ice cream shoppe when we talked. I never confirmed or denied I had the abortion."

Tyler snickers. "He's going to be in shock when he see's you pushing a baby stroller around town this fall."

"I don't know what to do." Andie sighs.

"What about asking your parents for the money?"

"They're going to want to know why I need five hundred dollars."

"Maybe you could owe it to the clinic." Tyler suggests. "Like a payment plan or something."

"Or else?" Andie thinks.

"Or else what?" Tyler asks.

"My mother keeps money stashed in her bedroom for unexpected things that come up. I could borrow it and put it back before she even notices it's gone."

"As long as she doesn't count her stash everyday it could work." Tyler agrees. He changes the subject. "My mom says it's fine with her if we use the time share in Italy as long as we leave it the same way we found it."

"Great." Andie answers. "Danielle texted me that her mom said we could stay at her time share in Switzerland too, then me and Danielle want to spend two weeks in Paris."

"That means you'll be in Europe for six weeks total over the summer."

"That is if my parents let me go." Andie tells him." I'll have to be the perfect daughter until graduation."

"When are you going to tell them you're pregnant?"

"I can't tell them before the trip. They'd never let me go to Europe if they knew." Andie does the calculating in her head. "I'll be five months pregnant when I graduate in May. I could hide it until then."

"How?"

"With those belly bands the sono tech told us about. You wear them over your pants and leave the button open so I can still wear the same jeans I normally wear just with loose shirts."

"Cool."

"I'll try not to gain any weight. I can do this." Andie tries to convince herself. "I'll tell them when I come back in the middle of August. I won't be able to hide it by then. I'll be seven months."

"Won't they be surprised when you get off the plane seven months pregnant?" Tyler chuckles.

Andie hits Tyler's arm. "It's not funny."

"It's your life." Tyler shrugs.

"At least I get to see Europe before I have this baby." Andie tells him. "I plan to live it up before this baby is born."

"Good for you." Tyler says.

* * *

><p>Noah and Marley arrive at the skate park. They meet Dylan and Lila under the big oak tree where they're smoking weed. "Want some?" Lila offers Marley a joint.<p>

"I want some but I shouldn't." Marley shakes her head. "I feel so guilty."

"For smoking weed?" Dylan teases his half sister. "Get a life."

"No." Marley huffs. "Because Morgan almost killed herself."

"Yeah." Noah adds. "What if she died?"

"Our asses would be in jail." Dylan tells them. "Morgan isn't talking for some reason but if she died her friends would tell the authorities we were the one's who posted the video on you tube."

"Could we go to jail for that?" Marley asks. "Is it a crime?"

"Hell yeah." Dylan takes a puffs on his joint. "You can't post pictures or video's of anyone without their permission. Why do you think the school makes our parents sign those privacy forms before the school can take pictures of us and use them even for educational purposes?"

"Holy shit." Marley grabs the joint and takes a puff now." I don't want to go to jail."

"We would go to Juvi." Lila tells her.

"That doesn't make me feel better." Marley takes another puff of the joint.

"We're screwed." Noah takes the joint and puffs it now. "What if Morgan or one of her friends decides to start talking and tell it was us?"

"I deleted it." Lila tells them.

"It doesn't matter screwball." Dylan puffs on the joint. "Anybody else could have copied it, just cuz you deleted it doesn't mean it's gone."

"Shit. We are so screwed. You know Morgan will talk eventually. Her parents are going to pressure her." Noah takes another puff on the joint.

"My mother's her therapist. I'm sure she's trying to get her to open up and tell her everything." Lila tells them.

"What should we do?" Marley freaks.

"We need to go over there and tell Morgan we're sorry." Noah suggests. "We need to kiss her ass."

"No way! She's not innocent." Lila argues. "Morgan started this whole thing. She stole Marely's Nook and wanted to fight her then she wanted to fight me. I'm not kissing her ass."

"Did you want her to kill herself?" Marley asks.

"No, but she took the pills. Nobody forced her too." Lila defends.

"It had to be pretty humiliating that the whole school saw her in her underwear." Noah adds.

"Especially with the granny panties and skanky bra she had on." Dylan laughs.

Lila laughs now too.

"Why are you laughing?" Marley accuses. "You're the one who took the video and posted it on Facebook. You're in the most trouble."

"Hey!" Dylan tells his sister. "Don't turn on Lila. We're all in this together. You knew Lila was going to post it on you tube the day before and you didn't stop her. You were laughing about it."

"Fine." Marley huffs. "But we need to apologize to save our asses if not for any other reason."

"We could bring her brownies" Lila smirks. "I'll spike them with weed."

"You better not lace the brownies with weed. You'll get us in even more trouble." Marley warns Lila.

"Chillax Marles. I was kidding. You think I would waste my weed on Morgan?" Lila takes another puff of her joint. "It's just that I don't see her as some poor innocent girl. She messed with us first. Why should she get away with it?"

Noah tells Lila. "Marley's not saying Morgan's innocent but we have to make sure she doesn't give us up or we're screwed. The best way to do that is to make nice-nice with her."

"Ugh!" Lila scowls. "I'm not looking foward to this."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note- <strong>A couple readers have asked me if I knew Paul Adelstein's (Cooper) parents were cousins when I wrote this fanfic. I figure that more of you are wondering. The answer is no. I had no idea. It's just a coincidence. I only found out his parents were cousins when I read his recent interview with Jessica Radloff but I think it's a pretty cool coincidence that Cooper's daughter (Andie) in my story is/was dating her cousin. And since Paul Adelstein is a healthy man I hope that will ease some reader's fears about Andie's baby._


	98. Chapter 98

_**CHAPTER 98**_

* * *

><p>It's a Monday morning. The kids have a day off from school today. Cooper's in the kitchen flipping pancakes. He's wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. Chase and Noah are eating breakfast along with Drew. Andie breezes into the kitchen. "Good morning, Andie Candy." Cooper turns to greet his daughter. Andie's between fifteen and sixteen weeks pregnant now. She's wearing her same old jeans with an ordinary white top. Thank goodness for the belly bands she bought, she's still able to wear her pre-pregnancy clothes without rising any suspicions that she's pregnant. She figures she can get away with the belly bands for a few more weeks. She's having her amniocentesis done this morning.<p>

"Hey, daddy." Andie gives Cooper a small good morning kiss on the cheek. "Why aren't you dressed? Aren't you going to work today?" Andie asks.

"Nope. I took off since you guys all have the day off from school today."

"What about momma?" Andie asks.

"Your mother has to go to work today. She has too much going on at the hospital to take the day off." Cooper tells the kids.

"Aw" Drew complains. "I wish momma could stay home."

"You got _me_, Squirt. What am I chopped liver?" Cooper jokes. He puts a nutella crepe on Andie's plate.

"I thought you were making pancakes, daddy?" Andie looks down at the crepe.

"I made pancakes for the boys and the nutella crepes for you since they're your favorite."

"Oh." Andie looks at the crepe on her plate knowing she can't eat it. She's not allowed to eat anything before her procedure. Andie looks at Chase. Chase knows. He and Tess agreed to go with her to the procedure for moral support.

Chase grabs the crepe off Andie's plate while Cooper's back is turned.

"Hey!" Drew watches and yells at Chase. "That's Andie's crepe!"

"It's okay, Squirt." Andie whispers to Drew. "I'm not hungry and I don't want to hurt daddy's feelings."

"Oh." Drew nods and continues to eat his pancakes while Chase shovels down the crepe as fast as he can. Cooper flips more pancakes oblivious to what his children are doing.

Cooper turns around with more pancakes. He notices Andie's empty plate. "You ate that fast. Here, have some pancakes." He puts one on her plate.

Andie holds up her hand. "No thanks, daddy. I'm full from the crepe." Andie gets up.

"What are your plans for the day, Andie Candy?" Cooper asks.

"Uhm... I'm going to the library this morning to do some research for a school project." Andie lies.

"What about you?" Cooper asks Chase now.

"Uh...I'm going to the library with Tess to study." Chase lies. He's going with Andie for the amnio this morning.

Charlotte walks in the kitchen now. She's wearing her black business jacket with grey skirt. "Good morning." She greets them all while she pours herself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, momma." Andie says.

"Mornin' momma." Chase gets up to give his momma a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, beautiful." Cooper gives her a soft quick kiss on the lips.

"I wish you didn't have to work, momma. We have off from school." Drew complains.

"Sorry, Squirt." Charlotte kisses Drew on the top of the head. "I'll try to come home as early as I can."

"I made you some pancakes." Cooper flips some onto a plate and hands it to Charlotte.

Charlotte sits down at the table. "So, what do y'all have planned for your day off?" She looks around the kitchen at her four children.

Cooper responds with a chuckle. "We raised a bunch of bookworms. They're going to the library to study on their day off from school."

"Not me!" Noah exclaims. "I'm going skateboarding with Marz Barz. I'm not studying on a day off. That's narley."

"Me either!" Drew joins in. "I'm playing all day. I'm not a bookworm."

Andie and Chase exchange looks. They both know they're not going to be studying at the library today.

"Are you just going to the skate park with Marley?" Cooper eats his pancake and asks Noah. "What about Dylan and Lila?"

"I don't know." Noah shrugs. "They may show up."

Cooper asks Noah. "Did you ever find out who posted that video of Morgan on you tube?"

"Nope." Noah shakes his head but doesn't look up at his parents.

"I thought maybe one of the kids at school would have talked by now." Cooper suggests.

"I don't know." Noah eats his food without looking up.

"You don't talk much these days, do you Noah?" Charlotte gives her middle son the look.

Noah looks up at Charlotte now. "I said I don't know. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Cooper gets firm. "Don't speak to your mother that way or you'll be spending your day off in your room, alone." Cooper threatens.

"Sorry, momma," Noah apologizes.

"Apology accepted." Charlotte gives Noah a hug around his neck. "Fourteen was a tough age for me too." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"I better not find out you're smoking weed again." Cooper looks at Noah. "Is that why you've been so quiet these past few weeks?"

"No. I'm not smoking weed." Noah defends himself. Andie looks at Noah. She clearly remembers seeing him smoking with his friends at Marley's birthday party a few months back. She doesn't even think about calling her younger brother on it. She's hiding her own stuff from her parents.

Tess knocks on the back door. Chase lets her in. "Good Morning. Do you want some pancakes?"

"No thanks, I ate at home. Are you ready to go?" She asks Andie.

"Yep." Andie answers. "Bye, we're going to the library now." She tells her parents.

"Aren't you going to take any books? Charlotte asks.

"Uhm..." Andie thinks. "They're already in the car."

"Okay." Charlotte gets up to give Andie a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you tonight, Sweet Pea."

Chase gives his mother a kiss goodbye before following Andie and Tess out the door.

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess walk in the doors to the free clinic with Andie for her amniocentesis, except the amniocentiesis isn't free. It's going to cost Andie two thousand dollars because she's not using her parents health insurance. She saved up one thousand dollars from working at the pet store. She still has the five hundred that Nicky gave her to have an abortion plus she borrowed another five-hundred from her parent's rainy day fund. She plans on replacing it as she gets paid from her job at the pet store. "Alexandria Freedman" The nurse calls out. Andie gets up followed by Tess and Chase.<p>

"The doctor told me it would be okay if they came with me for support." Andie tells the nurse as she follows her to the procedure room.

"Of course," The nurse tells her. "You'll need someone to drive you home after the procedure." The nurse leads them into the room. It looks like an operating room with big lamps shining brightly down from the ceiling and a stretcher style table in the center of the room. "Change into this gown and then sit on the table. Dr. Taylor will be in to talk to you soon."

Andie takes the gown from the nurse. She pads into the bathroom to change since Chase is there. She's feeling super nervous and wishes her momma or Nicky was there to hold her hand but they can't since they don't know she's pregnant. After she changes Andie pads her way back to the operating table and scoots herself up on it.

"You're going to be okay." Chase pats his sister on the back. He can tell she's nervous. Tess rubs her shoulder gently.

"I'm good." Andie wants them to think she's strong but the truth is that she's trembling inside looking at all the surgical tools the nurse is setting out on a metal tray. There's a very long needle that she can't stop staring at.

The nurse turns around to tell Andie, "I'm going to set you up for a sonogram before we start the procedure and then I have to change. The nurse hands Chase and Tess each a sterile gown and mask. "You'll have to wear these over your clothes if your going to stay for the procedure."

"Do you want us to stay in the room with you while they do it, Andie?" Chase asks.

"Yes." Andie nods her head eagerly.

Chase and Tess pull the sterile gowns on over their clothes. They tie each others masks on.

Dr. Taylor enters the room while the nurse sets up the ultrasound machine. "Do you have any questions before we start?" The doctor asks.

"How do you know you won't poke the baby with the needle?" Andie looks at the big needle on the bedside tray.

Dr. Taylor answers. "That's why we have the ultrasound machine set up. I can see the baby and I can see where I'm placing the needle with the ultrasound. Don't worry I haven't poked a baby yet." The doctor smiles. "Any other questions?"

"I don't think so." Andie sighs, nervously.

"Great." The doctor pats her shoulder. "I need to scrub up and then we'll begin the procedure."

The nurse starts the ultrasound. "The baby looks fine."

"Good." Andie watches the screen. "I was a little concerned."

"I understand." The nurse tells her. "It's smart of you to have the amniocentesis. I'm a firm believer in being prepared."

"Thank you." Andie nods and watches her do the sonogram.

"Can you tell if it's a girl or boy yet?" Tess asks.

"I can." The nurse tells them. "You're close to sixteen weeks. I can clearly tell the sex of the baby. Do you want to know?" She asks Andie.

"Yes, please." Andie answers.

"You're having a little girl." The nurse smiles.

Andie smiles before her eyes start to tear up. "I hope she's healthy." She watches the screen.

Dr. Taylor comes back in the room with her sterile gown on. "Okay Andie. We're ready to start."

Andie nods. The doctor's wearing scrubs and a surgical mask as if she's doing surgery. She explains, "First, I'm going to clean your abdomen with betadine, then you're going to feel a little pinch on your abdomen. That's to numb your skin so you won't feel the large needle go in."

"K," Andie swallows

"It's okay, Andy Candy, I'm here." Chase rubs her arm. Andie can't help but smile. Chase never calls her Andy Candy. She knows Chase is trying really hard to comfort her and she appreciates it.

Andie flinches when she feels the needle pinch her belly.

"That was the topical anesthetic. Your belly should start feeling numb soon." The doctor tells her.

"K" Andie says.

"Squeeze my hand, Andy Candy." Chase says and Andie chuckles again.

The doctor pokes around Andie's belly. "Can you feel me poking you?"

"No, I don't feel anything." Andie shakes her head.

"Good." The doctor smiles. "We can begin."

Tess watches the doctor push the large needle down into Andie's belly. The doctor watches where she places the needle using the ultrasound for guidance.

"Wow." Tess watches. "That's really fascinating."

The doctor explains. "I'm gong to withdraw twenty milliliters of fluid from the amniotic sac now." The doctor pulls back on the plunger of the syringe.

"Doesn't the baby need that fluid as a cushion?" Tess asks.

"The amniotic fluid will replenish itself in a day or two." The doctor tells Tess. "We need to study the fluid to check for genetic defects."

"How long does it take to get the results?" Tess asks.

Andie listens quietly. She tries not to move. The doctor still has the large needle inside of her. She's glad she brought Tess along to ask these questions.

"You'll have the full results in one week." Dr. Taylor explains.

"That's a long time to wait." Tess tells the doctor.

"The lab is very thorough." The doctor slowly and gently pulls the needle out of Andie's abdomen.

"We're done." Dr. Taylor tells them.

"That wasn't so bad." Andie's relieved it's over.

"Does she need to be on bedrest now?" Tess asks.

"I want Andie to take it easy for the rest of the day. Do you hear me, Alexandria?"

"Yes, Dr. Taylor. Should I lie in bed for the rest of the day."

"That would be fine. You just need to take it easy, no heavy lifting, no intercourse or air travel for the next two to three days. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Andie answers. "Is there a chance I can miscarry from this?"

"It's rare but not unheard of." Dr. Taylor answers. "If you have any cramping or bleeding you need to call me immediately."

"Okay." Andie nods.

"Just rest today." Dr. Taylor puts her hand on Andie's shoulder. "You'll be fine." Dr. Taylor leaves the room.

Tess takes off her sterile gown while the nurse helps Andie change back into her clothes. Chase looks out the window.

Tess tells Andie. "Thank you for letting me come. I think I just decided what I want to major in college."

"What?" Chase asks.

"I want to major in pre-med. I want to be an obstetrician, like Dr. Taylor." Tess tells them.

The nurse informs Tess. "It might be a good idea for you to volunteer here at the clinic to get more exposure and see if you're really interested in it."

"I'd love that." Tess says. "How do I sign up?"

"We have the forms at the front desk." The nurse tells her.

"You're free to go home but take it easy for the rest of the day like Dr. Taylor told you." The nurse tells Andie.

"Yes ma'am." Andie plans on staying in bed for the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow too so she doesn't risk a miscarraige. She'll have to pretend she has the flu again.

* * *

><p>Noah, Marley, Lila and Dylan knock on the door of Morgan's house. It's a small Spanish style one story ranch.<p>

"Can I help you?" Morgan's mother asks.

Marley speaks. "We'd like to say hi to Morgan."

"Sure, come on in." The mother leads them to the den where Morgan is studying.

Morgan looks up. "What are you doing here?"

"We want to talk to you." Marley tells her. Morgan's mother waits in the hallway, listening to the group talk.

"What do _you _want to talk to me about? _You_ ruined my life. Everyone at school saw the video by now."

"We're sorry." Noah sits down next to her. "We deleted it."

"It had over 2,000 hits by the time I saw it. That means 2,000 people saw me and the comments. Did you read the comments about me?"

"I deleted it as soon as I heard you were in the hospital." Lila tells her.

"Yeah, well, because of you I can't show my face at school ever again."

"We're sorry." Marley looks in Morgan's eyes. "How can we make this right?"

"You can't." Morgan tells her. "There's no way you can take it back. Everyone saw it. They won't forget."

"You aren't innocent in this either." Dylan tells Morgan. "You kept threatening to kick the crap out of Marley and Lila. That's why we did this."

"I made you brownies." Lila hands her the pan.

"You're all rich brats!" Morgan snaps. "Your parents could afford to pay the school if you lose your Nook. Mine can't. That's why I took your Nook." Morgan looks at Marley. "My parents can't afford to buy another _Wal -Mart _dress. That's why I was trying to clean it in the bathroom when you took the video of me." Morgan gets teary eyed.

"We're sorry." Marley says. "But that doesn't give you the right to steal my Nook and expect me not to tell. You could have worked a deal out with Miss Williams if your parents couldn't pay for a new Nook instead of steal mine."

Morgan answers. "It would be no big deal for your parents to buy a new nook. They're doctors."

"That doesn't mean they have to provide the school with Nooks." Marley tells her. "If you want to sit with us at lunch or something, it's okay. We'll make sure nobody gives you grief over the video."

Morgan nods her head. "Why are you being nice to me?"

"Don't rat us out and we'll call it even." Dylan tells her.

Morgan nods. The group stays to play a video game with Morgan for a little while.

Morgan's mother picks up her phone.

* * *

><p>Cooper calls the kids in the kitchen for dinner. "Where's Andie?" He asks.<p>

"She's not feeling good." Chase tells him. "She's not coming down for dinner."

"What's wrong?" Cooper asks.

"Stomach virus, I think." Chase lies for his sister.

Charlotte comes in the kitchen. "Mmm..something smells good." She sniffs the air.

"How was your day at work?" Cooper asks.

"It was slow." Charlotte washes her hands.

"Slow is good." Cooper smiles.

"That all depends on the context." Charlotte flashes Cooper a sly smile.

"It's almost dinner time." Cooper smirks. "Which means the kids will be down soon." He adds "Except for Andie."

"Why not Andie?" Charlotte asks.

"Andie's got a stomach virus." Cooper tells Charlotte. "She's not coming to dinner."

"I'll go check on her before dinner." Charlotte leaves the kitchen and pads up the stairs to Andie's room. Charlotte knocks on the door and enters. "Are you okay, Sweet Pea?"

"Yeah," Andie answers. "I just want to rest today."

"I heard you had a stomach virus." Charlotte feels Andie's head. "You don't feel warm."

"I'm better now, momma, but I want to stay in my room for tonight. I don't want Drew to catch this since he was so sick the last time he had the stomach flu."

Charlotte pushes Andie's hair behind her ear. "You're so sweet."

Andie looks down at the bed, she's lying to her momma, it doesn't feel good.

Chase knocks on the bedroom door and opens it. "Nicky's at the front door. He wants to talk to you." Chase tells Andie.

"I don't want to talk to him." She can't bare to see him today, of all days, after she had this procedure behind his back to check if their baby was healthy. No, she thinks, she definitely can't face him today.

"He came with flowers." Chase reports.

"Tell him I'm sick."

Chase leaves to go back downstairs.

"So, Nicky wants to get back together?" Charlotte asks.

"I don't know." Andie shrugs.

"He came with flowers. I'd say that's a sign he wants to get back together." Charlotte suggests.

"Yes, but since I'm not speaking to him, it's not gonna happen." Andie tells Charlotte.

""If you wanna talk I'm here, Sweet Pea." Charlotte pats her daughter's knee

"Thanks, momma."

Chase comes into Andie's room with a huge bouquet of flowers, some red roses mixed with pink and white daisy's. "These are from Nicky. He says to tell you he misses you."

Andie takes the flowers which are in a vase from the florist. She pulls out the card. "I miss you, Belle, please give me another chance."

Charlotte rises to her feet telling Andie. "Those are some beautiful flowers."

Andie looks at them. "They are pretty. Aren't they?"

Charlotte walks towards the door. "You look fine to me. I'm going to go eat now. Let me know if you need anything."

"Can you bring me up some soup and crackers, momma? I'm a little hungry now."

"Got it, Sweet Pea." Charlotte smiles at her daughter and heads downstairs.

"I'll go get your soup so momma can eat her dinner." Chase leaves the room.

Andie looks at the flowers. She's tempted to call Nicky and tell him she's still pregnant. She wonders if he would still want to get back with her. She can't take the risk though of him telling her parents, so she decides against it and thinks about names for little girls. She pulls out one of the roses to smell it. She wonders how Nicky would feel if he knew they were having a little girl. She wonders if he would be happier if the baby was a boy. Oh well, she sighs, there's nothing she can do about that.

A few minutes later, Chase knocks on Andie's bedroom door. "Come in." Andie calls out.

Chase walks in with a bowl of soup and crackers. Tess is with him now. She carries a bottle of water. "Momma said you asked for soup." Chase hands her the bowl with a spoon.

"Thanks guys. I'm really starving but I had to say I was sick so I could stay in bed." Andie rips open the package of crackers.

"We can sneak you up come cookies and milk." Tess suggests.

Andie shakes her head. "I want to stay away from cookies. I don't want to gain any more weight than I have to during this pregnancy."

"Are you on a diet?" Chase asks.

"I'm just going to eat healthy foods like fruits and veggies and soup. I don't want my belly to get bigger."

"It's going to get bigger anyway, Andie." Tess tells her. "The baby is going to grow."

Andie sighs and eats her soup. "I want to keep it as small as possible."

Tess looks at the flowers now. "Those are beautiful. Are they from Nicky?"

Andie scoffs. "Who else would they be from?"

"You should just tell him you're still pregnant, Andie" Chase suggests.

"I can't take that chance yet. I don't know what he'll do."

"He's going to find out about it sooner or later." Chase informs her.

"I want to wait until the results of the amnio come back. Then I'll make a decision." Andie explains.

Tess asks. "So, if the amnio shows there's a problem with the baby, you may not keep it?"

Andie eats the soup. "It depends on how serious the problem is. If it's minor I'll keep her but if it's severe like she has no brain then I couldn't do that."

"She has a brain. We saw the brain was normal on the sonogram." Chase makes a scowl face at Andie.

"I know she has a brain but maybe there's something seriously wrong we can't see on the sonogram that's all I'm saying."

"Well, I'm going to say a prayer that she's healthy." Tess announces. "I'm already attached to the little girl."

"Me too." Andie pats her tummy. "I'm really hoping she'll be normal."

"Did you think of any names yet?" Tess asks.

Andie swallows her soup and responds. "Ever since I was a little girl I liked the name Harper."

"Like Harper Lee, the author from momma's favorite book?" Chase asks.

"Yeah. I always thought that would be a cool name for a girl."

"But what about the family tradition?" Chase asks.

"What family tradition?" Tess asks Chase.

Chase explains. "There's a rule in my momma's family to name the first daughter after a southern city or state."

"Oh." Tess thinks.

Andie tells Tess. "That's why I'm named Alexandria after the city in Virginia. My momma is named Charlotte after the city in North Carolina and my grandma is Augusta after Augusta, Georgia."

Chase adds. "And our great grandmother's name was Georgia. Her mother was named Carolina and our aunt was named Virginia... Her mother was...-"

"She gets the idea, Chase." Andie stops him.

Chase continues. "I'm just saying it's been a tradition for over one hundred years. You'll break momma's heart if you name your baby Harper and break the tradition." Chase warns Andie.

"I'm gonna break momma's heart when she finds out I'm pregnant, Chase. She's gonna hate me anyway."

Tess pipes in. "I like the family tradtion. I'm from Georgia myself. Are you allowed to recycle the names or do you have to come up with something that hasn't already been used?"

"You can recycle the names." Chase smiles. "Why? Do you like Georgia, after my great-grandma and your home state?"

"No, I like Carolina after your great-great grandma. I think it's pretty...'Carolina Tess Freedman'." Tess says out loud.

"Well good." Andie answers. "When you have a little girl, you can make my momma real proud and name her Carolina."

Chase takes a deep breath. "Yeah, well, that's not gonna happen for about another ten years."

"Yeah." Tess agrees. "I want to finish medical school before I have kids."

"I want to finish high school." Andie rolls her eyes.

"You blew that one."Chase smirks.

"Not really." Tess adds. "She won't have the baby until after she graduates high school."

"Goody for me." Andie says in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"We better go study, now." Chase leads Tess out of Andie's room.

Andie lies back down on her bed, looking at the ceiling. She prays the amnio results are good. She thinks about the best way to break the news to her parents and Nicky.


	99. Chapter 99

_**CHAPTER 99**_

* * *

><p>Cooper arrives at the principal's office to find Pete and Cole sitting on a couch in the waiting area. "What's going on?" Cooper asks.<p>

"Your guess is as good as mine." Pete shrugs. "I was told the principal has something to discuss with me."

The secretary comes out to greet them. "Good, you're all here. Mr Schmidt will see you now." The secretary escorts the three men into the principal's office.

Principal Scmidt looks up at them from his desk. "You're probably wondering why you're here."

Cooper scratches his head. "That would be a good guess."

"Have a seat." Principal Schimdt tells them. "I asked your children to have me call one parent each. I know you're all busy. I didn't want to disturb both parents at work."

"Which of my children are involved?" Cole asks.

"Dylan and Marley."

"Ah. I could see why Marley wanted you to call me instead of her mother." Cole sits down in a chair near the principal's desk. "What kind of trouble have they gotten themselves into?"

The principal waits for them all to sit down. "I assume you all heard about the video posted on you tube of one of our students in her underwear?"

"Yes." Cooper shakes his head. "That was horrible."

"I recieved an anonymous call naming the culprits who posted the video." The principal tells them. "When I questioned your children they confessed."

The room is quiet for a whole minute before Pete breaks the silence. "I thought you were going to say you caught them smoking weed."

Cooper shakes his knees nervously and wrings his hands together. "This is worse." He looks at the principal. "Isn't it?"

The principal gives Cooper a disapproving look.

"I can't believe Dylan or Marley could do something like this." Cole rubs his hand across his mouth. "It's not like them."

"Violet's going to flip when she finds out." Pete says out loud. "She's Morgan's therapist."

"That would be why Lila asked the principal to call you." Cooper informs Pete before continuing. _"I _can't believe Noah would be a part of anything like this."

The principal speaks now. "Some of the children were more culpable than others but they were all in on it. Morgan's parents have decided not to press charges."

"That's a relief." Pete sighs.

The principal explains. "Cyberbullying is a serious problem among our youth. It's led to several suicides across the nation and one almost occurred at our school because of it. We take it very serious."

"What's their punishment?" Cole asks.

"Immediate suspension for three days." The principal answers. "How you choose to deal with them at home is up to you. The children are waiting for you in another room. You can take them home now to start their suspenson."

Cooper follows the principal to a room where Noah is waiting. Cooper holds his arms out. "Come on, buddy, tell me you weren't part of this."

Noah looks at the floor.

Cooper waits a minute. "Let's go. I'll take you home now. You're suspended for three days.

Noah answers in a quiet voice. "The principal already told us that."

Cooper and Noah walk out of the school to the parking lot. "Why'd you do it?" Cooper asks.

"Morgan did a lot of shit first. She stole Marley's Nook. She was harrassing Marley and Lila. She wanted to fight them. What were we supposed to do?"

Cooper screws up his face. "Not that."

Noah shrugs as he gets in the car. "We thought we would teach her a lesson."

Cooper starts to drive. "You can't do that. You can't go around teaching people lessons by posting embarrassing videos of them on you tube." Cooper shakes his head.

"It was Lila's idea. She took the video and posted it but we all knew she was going to do it so that's why we're all in trouble."

"Morgan could have killed herself, Noah. Do you realize you would have to live with that guilt the rest of your life?" Cooper lectures.

"I'm sorry. We didn't know whe would swallow pills."

Cooper explains. "Morgan has other problem besides the video to make her want to take her life. Bullies usually have problems that make them be bullies. Sometimes you have to step back and think about why they're doing what they're doing."

"It's kind of hard when she's always in our face wanting to fight. What were we supposed to do?"

"Tell someone if she was bothering you." Cooper raises his brow. "Tell a teacher, the principal or a parent."

"No thanks, Lila and Dylan think I'm a dork. I'm not being a tattle tale too." Noah scoffs. "We handled it our own way."

"And look where it got you." Cooper tells Noah. "Cyberbullying is not the answer."

"I already told you I'm sorry and besides Lila was the one who posted it."

"Alright, but the next time one of your friends plans to do something this stupid can you try to stay out of it?"

"Okay." Noah nods.

"Good because you're under house arrest while you're on suspension. You're not to see or talk to any of them." Cooper holds his hand out. "Give me your phone."

Noah sulks and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

><p>Charlotte's in the bathroom getting ready for a dinner party. "Where were you?" She asks Cooper. "You have fifteen minutes to get ready. Everyone's meeting at five."<p>

"I was up at the school talking to principal Shmidt and then I took Noah for a little ride to talk."

Charlotte turns while she puts her earring in. "Why?"

"Apparently Noah was involved in that you tube incident where the girl tried to commit suicide. He's suspended for three days."

"Noah?" Charlotte's baffled. "Noah wouldn't do that."

"Noah didn't do it. I talked to him in the car. Lila took the video and posted it on you tube and on her Facebook page."

"So why is Noah suspended?" Charlotte puts her other earring in.

"Noah knew Lila was planning to post the video and he didn't tell anyone."

"Why not?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"He says Lila and Dylan already think of him and Marley as dorks. He didn't want to make things worse and rat Lila out."

Charlotte sighs. "Amelia does have her hands full with Dylan and Pete and Violet with Lila. I hope this will teach Noah a lesson not to go along with the crowd."

"I think it will." Cooper nods. "I confiscated his phone and sent him to his room to think about it. Now shall we get ready for the party?" Cooper kisses Charlotte's neck before changing his clothes.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper sit at the dinner party with their co-workers. They join Addison and Sam along with Pete and Violet at the large table at Giorgio's on the water. They order their food. Amelia and Sheldon show up. The last one to arrive is Jolie. "It's good to all be together again." Addison tells the group.<p>

"So?" Violet asks. "How hard did you all come down on your kids for what they did to Morgan?"

"Pretty hard." Cooper says. "Noah is under house arrest while he's suspended."

"I still can't believe Noah played a part in it." Charlotte sighs.

Sam adds. "It's the times we live in. Bullying has been around since cave men existed but this cyberbullying is bad, real bad."

"He's right." Sheldon tells them. "When we were kids we would bully each other on the bus or at school but now they can do it over the internet. Kids are commiting suicide over stuff posted about them on facebook or you tube."

"I always told Danielle to think twice before she hits send." Addison tells them.

"I tell that to my kids too." Jolie adds. "But they're kids. They don't get it."

"Their frontal cortexes aren't developed enough until they're in their early twenties to really understand the social ramifications." Sheldon explains.

"So what do we do to make them get it?" Violet asks Sheldon.

"Stiff penalties for the guilty parties." Sam tells her. "Punishment. Kids understand that."

"Except the guilty parties are _our_ kids." Charlotte sighs. "We're very lucky Morgan's parents aren't pressing charges."

"That's because they like you." Violet tells Charlotte. "And it helps that I'm Morgan's therapist."

Pete chimes in. "They love Violet. She's offering to treat Morgan free of charge now."

"I guess I owe you both a big thank you." Amelia tells Charlotte and Violet. "They like you guys so Dylan is getting off free too."

"How is Dylan doing these days?" Addison asks.

""He's still in remission, knock on wood." Amelia knocks on the wood table.

"I'm playing Mr. Mom to both him and Sara." Sheldon adds.

"How's Andie doing?" Amelia asks Charlotte, fishing to find out if she clued Charlotte and Cooper in that she's pregnant yet.

"Andie's doing well. She had another stomach virus but got over it pretty quick this time." Charlotte sips a martini.

Addison sips her martini and asks. "Does Andie know that you're allowing her to go to Europe this summer with Danielle or is it going to be a surprise for her graduation?"

"She knows." Cooper tells them. "It's an incentive for her to stay away from Nicky and stick to her school studies. It's seems to be working, she isn't seeing Nicky and she's pulling all A's." Cooper sports a big smile.

"She stays up in her room and studies most nights now as opposed to hanging out with Nicky and watching his band." Charlotte tells the group.

Sheldon advices. "She should have a social life."

Charlotte tells Sheldon. "I used to stay home and read when I was in high school while my brothers were out socializing with friends. Andie's a lot like I was."

"That explains it." Violet says half joking, half serious.

Charlotte shoots Violet a look.

Addison shrugs, telling Violet. "Couldn't have been too bad. Charlotte turned out to be the Chief of Staff and has her own sexology practice."

"Overachiever." Violet sips her drink. "That's what happens when you deprive yourself of friends."

Charlotte shakes her head at Violet. Cooper watches, finding it all amusing.

Sam decides to change the topic. "Eh...Leave Charlotte alone." He smirks before asking Charlotte. "Doesn't Nicky's band play here? I heard they opened for the ~Budgies 5~ concert in Chicago?."

"They did." Cooper sips his beer. "They also were on Late Night LA last week."

"Whew." Sam shakes his head while sipping his beer. "I guess they won't be sticking around playing here at Giorgio's much longer."

"Nope." Cooper agrees. "They're going places."

"Ha, Ha." Pete laughs. "I'll bet you'll be happy if they move across the country."

"The further away from Andie, the better." Cooper agrees.

"Aww," Addison tells them. "Nicky's a nice guy. I always liked him."

"He hurt Andie." Charlotte sips her Margarita.

"Well, it's to be expected with that lifestyle." Violet tells her. "What do you expect with all those girls throwing themselves at him? You have to have tough skin to have a musician for a partner."

"And a lot of trust." Addison sips her drink.

Jolie changes the subject. "Scott and I are going to Paris this summer. I can check on Danielle and Andie if you want while they're visiting Paris."

"We'd appreciate it." Cooper smiles and pulls out a seat for Jolie to sit.

"Aren't Tyler and Lucas going with them to Europe too?" Sam asks.

"Yes." Addison answers. "Tyler and Lucas will tour Switzerland and Paris with the girls but then they will come home while Danielle and Andie go to Italy."

"That's a great trip. These kids are very fortunate." Sheldon says.

"Well, I can afford it and Danielle's a good kid." Addison explains. "She's done very well at Yale her first year."

Jolie adds. "The kids will be staying at Addison's time share in Switzerland and my time share in Italy so we don't have to pay hotel fees."

"Those kids live better than us." Amelia jokes. "Here we are working everyday and they get to tour Europe."

"They might as well live it up while they're young." Violet adds. "Before they have all the responsibilities of adult life like we do."

Nicky takes the stage with his band. He spots Charlotte and Cooper at their table. His face falls a little before he starts his first song.

"So, it's really over between Andie and Nicky?" Sheldon asks. "I haven't seen her car at his cottage in months."

"Yes." Cooper nods. "It's really over this time."

"That's so sad." Amelia's frowns, knowing Andie's pregnant with Nicky's baby.

"Why are you sad about it?" Sheldon asks Amelia.

Amelia's glad she didn't tell Sheldon about Andie being pregnant, he can't keep anything quiet. "They were so cute together." Amelia says.

"He's too old for her." Cooper defends. "Andie's in high school. She's still a kid, she should be hanging out with kids her age not a twenty-one year old man at his cottage."

"I agree." Sheldon chomps down on his steak. "Childhood goes by too fast as it is. There's no need to rush it."

Amelia nods, if they only knew what she knew. She wonders when Andie plans on telling her parents.

Nicky's sings with his band while they eat their dinner and listen.

* * *

><p>Andie's in the waiting room at the free clinic. "Alexandria Freedman." Tess giggles before calling out Andie's name.<p>

Andie gets up. "I'm so glad you're volunteering here tonight. I had to come alone for the results. I'm so nervous."

"Do you want me to stay with you when you get the results?" Tess asks.

"Please." Andie looks with wide eyes.

"Of course I will." Tess walks Andie into the doctor's office. They sit down in two black chairs across from the doctor's desk.

Andie wrings her hands together nervously. "My parents went out to dinner with friends tonight so Chase had to stay home and watch Drew. I'm glad you're here. I didn't want to do this alone in case there's something wrong with the baby."

"What will you do if there's a problem?"

"I don't want to think about that until I have too." Andie squeezes her sweaty hands together and stretches them out in front of her.

Tess grabs Andie's hand. "I'll be here for you no matter what."

"Thanks. I didn't want to ask Tyler to come with me." Andie explains. "He's a friend but he's a guy, it didn't feel right. It's like he's taking Nicky's place as the baby's father if I lean on him too much and Danielle is at Yale."

"It's okay, I'm here for you." Tess squeezes her hand.

"Do you like volunteering here?" Andie asks.

"I love it." Tess tells her before Dr. Taylor walks in the room.

Andie feels her heart drop into her stomach. She wants to vomit as she watches the doctor sit down at her desk with the chart in her hand.

"Is the baby okay?" Andie blurts out.

Dr. Taylor nods. "The baby tested negative for all the chromosomal abnormalities that we check for."

"Thank God." Andie looks up at the ceiling. "I've been praying."

The doctor continues. "The baby didn't have any of the chromosomal defects we standardly check for. According to the ultrasound and the amniocentesis, I have no reason to believe this is not a healthy baby girl." Dr. Taylor explains.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Andie repeats. Tess hugs Andie. Andie lets a tear fall down her cheek.

"As far as I can tell she's healthy but just be aware that we can't test for every rare gene. There is never a one hundred percent guarantee."

"But from everthing you can tell right now she's perfectly healthy?"

"Yes." The doctor nods. "We'll see you back here in one month for your next visit." Dr. Taylor tells her. "You're moving along nicely."

"Thank you." Andie says again.

"Let's go out and celebrate." Tess hugs Andie again.

"Where? Andie laughs. "I'm trying to cut down on the burgers and ice cream so I don't gain weight."

"There's a new dance club called Club Rio. It's an underage club. They can't serve alcohol but they have a good DJ." Tess explains.

"Have you been there?" Andie asks.

"I've went there once with Logan. The football players hang there."

"I don't know about hanging with the football players." Andie turns up her nose.

"Logan's friends are decent. He doesn't hang out with Spencer or that other guy that fought with Chase and Nicky."

"Okay." Andie jumps out of her seat. "Then, I'm there."

Andie and Tess order a soda at Club Rio. Logan walks up to them. "This place is lame tonight. The DJ they have tonight sucks. The music bites."

"Yeah, I noticed." Tess sips her soda.

"We're ditching this place and heading over to Club Enchanted." Logan tells them. "You can come with us if you want."

"I've always wanted to check out Club Enchanted." Andie tells Logan. "But you have to be twenty one to get in. They serve alcohol."

Logan answers. "One of the guy's brothers is a bouncer there. He can get us in but no getting drunk or attracting attention to us or they'll kick us out and call our parents."

"We'll behave." Andie agrees.

"We're leaving now. Meet us at the front door if you want us to get you in." Logan instructs them.

"Right behind you." Andie and Tess put their soda's down and get up to follow Logan out of the underage club. The girls talk as Tess drives them to the night club. "I can't believe we're going to Club Enchanted. I heard some celebrities are regulars there."

"Yep." Andie nods. "Nicky's band plays there sometimes and he's met a few. He says they just want to be normal people when they go out."

"Do you think Nicky will be there with his band tonight?"

"No." Andie shakes her head. "Broken Spell's contract with Giorgio's isn't up yet. They have to play there on Thursday nights."

"Oh well." Tess shrugs.

"It's okay. It would be weird to see Nicky tonight considering we're celebrating his daughter is healthy and he doesn't even know he's having a daughter." Andie chuckles. She's in a good mood after receiving the amnio results.

"That would be freaky." Tess giggles. She pulls in the parking lot of Club Enchanted.

They meet Logan and his friends at the entrance to Club Enchanted. Everyone has to pay a twenty dollar cover to the bouncer so he'll let them sneak in. "Good thing I had enough money on me." Andie tells Tess.

"I only have thirteen bucks left." Tess looks in her wallet. "How many drinks can I buy with that?"

"Beats me." Andie shrugs. "Drinks are probably expensive here."

"Now that we're in, we can drink whatever we want." Logan tells the girls. "They won't card us."

"Great. I want to try a pina colada." Tess walks toward the bar with Andie following right behind her. Tess orders her drink. Andie asks for a ginger ale.

"I feel like a loser drinking ginger ale when I could be drinking a pina colada or any other drink tonight." Andie complains.

"Sorry." Tess scrunches up her nose.

"Do you think it would hurt the baby if I just had one strawberry daiquiri?" Andie looks at the drink menu.

"Andie, the whole reason we came out tonight is to celebrate that the baby is healthy. You can't drink." Tess laughs.

"Being pregnant really bites." Andie grumps. The bartender passes Andie her ginger ale and Tess a pina colada. Tess's pina colada is served in a fancy glass with a cherry on top along with a red stirrer in the shape of a horse.

"That looks really good." Andie stares at it.

"I s'pose one sip wouldn't hurt the baby." Tess tells Andie. "All the baby's crucial development takes place in the first trimester. You're in the second trimester. One sip can't hurt." Tess hands Andie her glass.

Andie takes a sip. "That's really good. I wish I could have one of my own."

"You can't." Tess takes her glass back from Andie.

Andie sighs. "This is just the beginning of everything I'm going to miss out on because I'm pregnant. I feel like I'm being punished."

"Oh stop. It's amazing that you have a little baby girl growing in there." Tess places her hand on Andie's belly.

"Can you feel the pouch?" Andie asks.

"Yep." Tess nods. "It's so cool."

Andie screws up her face. "It's not cool. It means I'm getting fat. I'm only going to get fatter until she's born."

"Just remember you did the same thing to your momma when she was pregnant with you. You made her fat."

"I'm sure my momma didn't like getting fat either. She probably hated being pregnant."

"She did it four times." Tess sips her drink. "She couldn't have hated it that much."

Logan comes over with some of his friends. "What are you girls drinking?"

"I'm drinking a pina colada and Andie's drinking a seven and seven." Tess lies.

"Cool. I've got 'sex on the beach'. I always wanted to try it." Logan boasts.

"How does it taste?" Andie asks.

"Not bad. You want to try it?" Logan hands Andie the drink. Andie takes a small sip.

"It's good." She agrees. Tess shoots her a look. Andie gives the drink back to Logan and looks around. "This place is awesome."

"It's supposed to be an enchanted castle." Logan tells them.

"The band is good too." Andie comments.

"Yeah." Logan answers. "_Spell Broken _is coming to jam with them after they get done playing at Giorgio's tonight." Logan tells them.

"No freakin' way!" Tess exclaims.

"Yep. The female singer from _Spell Broken _is going out with the drummer from the band here so they come over and jam together sometimes." Logan explains. "It's really awesome when both bands are together on stage. This place is gonna be rockin' soon."

Tess looks at Andie. _Spell Broken _is Nicky's band.

Logan continues. "Did you hear that _Spell Broken_ is going to open for ~_ The Jungle Men_ ~this summer?"

Andie's eyes pop. "No!"

"Yep, they are." Logan tells them. "I saw them on _Late Night LA._ They said they were touring with _The Jungle Men_ on the east coast this summer."

"That sucks." Andie pouts.

"Why?" Logan asks. "That's great for them. They're could go big time."

Tess pats Andie on the shoulder. "You're going to be in Europe anyway, Andie. Why does it matter if Nicky will be on the east coast this summer?"

"It shouldn't." Andie pouts, sipping her ginger ale. "But it does." She knows she should be happy for Nicky and his band but the idea of his band going on tour with a bigger band is unsettling to her.

"You know, Nick Poulos, the lead singer from _SpellBroken?"_ Logan asks Andie.

"He was my neighbor growing up. We're friends." Andie answers.

"Cool." Logans tells her. "Maybe you can get us backstage passes one day if SpellBroken makes it big."

Andie smiles and nods politely.

About fifteen minutes later, the lead singer of the current band announces that _Spell Broken _is about to take the stage and join them. The crowd cheers as Nicky, Cody and the female singer take the stage along with two other band members. The first thing Andie notices is Nicky's new hairstyle. His straight dark hair is cut shorter in the back with a longer strand framing his face on one side.

"I like Nicky's hair. It's stylin'." Tess tells Andie.

"Aha." Andie watches. "He must think he's a big shot now."

"He has to keep up his image now that his band is out there." Tess agrees.

"Think he'll remember me after his band goes on tour this summer?" Andie says, sarcastically.

"Of course." Tess sips her pina colada and giggles. "You're his baby momma."

Andie shakes her head. "He's not gonna like that."

"Try telling him you're still pregnant and let him decide." Tess tells Andie in not such a quiet voice.

Andie looks around. "Hush up! Logan might have heard you if he wasn't so into watching the two bands play together."

"Sorry." Tess slinks down in her seat a little.

"Just don't do it again." Andie sips her ginger ale while watching Nicky play the guitar and strut his stuff around stage. The girls scream for him.

"It's so weird." Tess comments.

"What's weird?" Andie asks.

"All these girls would give it up for Nicky in a second but all he wants right now is you." Tess tells her.

"That's cuz I know the real Nicky Poulos. These girls don't know him. They just want his body." Andie watches the girls go crazy for Nicky as he struts his stuff, singing on the stage.

"He is hot." Tess points out.

"Ummm... I'm telling Chase you said that." Andie teases.

"Chase wouldn't care." Tess responds. "He's not the jealous type."

"Chase doesn't have a clue. He's still a boy."

"No." Tess corrects. "I assure you that your brother is a fully fledged man and a big one at that."

"UGH!" Andie exclaims. "I don't want to hear that about my brother. You better stop drinking. It's making you talk too much." Andie makes a disgusted face.

Logan and his friends ask Tess and Andie to dance with them. "Sure." A tipsy Tess replies, grabbing Andie's arm and pulling her out to the dance floor. Andie and Tess dance along side Logan and the other football players. A couple of the guys try to dance with them. A tipsy Tess goes along with it. Andie decides to have some fun since all these girls are swooning over Nicky. It doesn't take long for Nicky to notice Andie dancing provocatively with the football players. His frown says it all. After a couple more songs Nicky's band leaves the stage and sits at the bar. Andie and Tess go back to their seats. They sit across the bar from Nicky and Cody.

Andie watches Nicky doing shots with the other band members. The bartender brings over two raspberry mojito's. "The gentlemen across the bar sent these over to you," the bartender tells them.

"Oooh...Yay, cuz I'm all out of money." Tess waves and smiles at Nicky and Cody. Tess tastes the raspberry mojito. "This is delicious." She drinks more.

Andie picks up her mojito to taste it. "It is good."

"Give me that." Tess grabs the drink away. "You can't have any. You're with child."

Andie nudges Tess's arm. "Would you shut up before the whole bar hears you?"

"Ooops sorry." Tess giggles.

"I better drive you home." Andie tells Tess. "You don't handle your liquor well."

"That's cuz I never had an alcoholic drink before. I mean my momma would let me have a sip of her wine on holidays but that's it."

Andie furrows her brow. "Yeah, I can tell you never had a drink before. You're already buzzed."

Tess picks up Andie's drink. "I'm going to have to drink both mojito's since you can't drink."

Andie shakes her head and looks around. "It really sucks being pregnant at a club. I feel like an outsider watching everyone else having fun."

"Ha ha." Tess giggles. "It's ironic."

"What is?" Andie looks at her.

"You're seventeen. You shouldn't be pregnant and you definitely shouldn't be seventeen and pregnant hanging out at a bar but you're both. _You_ are a bad girl, Alexandria Freedman." Tess giggles "If your parents only knew."

"_You _are drunk." Andie tells Tess. "We're leaving now."

Nicky and Cody come over to talk to them. "Thanks for the drinks." Tess giggles.

Andie gets up from her bar stool. "Tess had a little too much to drink. I have to take her home."

"Why are you girls here?" Cody asks. "How did you even get in? This is an adult nightclub."

"The bouncer is our friend's brother." Tess laughs. "And we paid him off to let us in."

"Let's dance before you leave." Nicky grabs Andie's arm firmly and drags her out to the dance floor. Cody and Tess follow.

"I don't want to dance." Andie tells Nicky. "I need to take Tess home."

"Dance with me the same way you were dancing with those guys." Nicky demands. He presses his body up against Andie. The band is playing move like Jagger. Nicky sings to Andie ~~"_ Take me by the tongue and I'll know you!"_ He sings at her in an agitated tone._ " Kiss me til your're drunk and I'll show you I've got the moves like Jagger." _Nicky starts to attract the crowd's attention as he sings to Andie.

"You're drunk." Andie tries to push Nicky away but he's holding her tight. "I don't want you to show me your moves when you're drunk."

Tess laughs. "I wish someone would sing and dance with me like that."

"Geez." Andie looks at Tess now. "It doesn't take much to get you drunk."

Cody chuckles. "She's not used to drinking. You girls should head home before you get yourselves into trouble."

"That's what I was trying to do." Andie tells Cody. "Until Nicky grabbed me."

Nicky grabs Andie again and presses up tight against her. "Dirty dance with me the way you did with those other guys and then I'll let you go home."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Andie pushes him away again.

"He did a lot of shots. He's drunk." Cody tells Andie. "Just dance with him so he'll let you go without making a scene."

Andie looks around. She doesn't want to attract anymore attention. "I'll dance to one song with you and then I'm taking Tess home." Andie tells Nicky.

Andie presses up against Nicky and sways her hips along with his on the dance floor. He grabs her chin, before she can look up his lips are on her's. He plants a warm wet eager kiss on her. She misses the feel of his lips on hers. She doesn't care if he's drunk and surrenders to him. She's swaying her hips with his while kissing him on the dance floor. She feels sort of like their making love with their clothes on. After the song is over, he let's go of her. "I knew you still loved me." Nicky tells her. "How long are you going to punish me for getting you pregnant?"

Andie looks around. "Shut up! We're not doing this here!" Andie takes Nicky by the hand and pulls him off the dance floor.

Cody follows with Tess. Cody asks Andie. "Do you mind dropping Nicky off at his cottage when you drive Tess home? He's drunk and I want to stay and hang out a little longer."

Andie rolls her eyes. "I guess I'm what they call the designated driver tonight. I'll drive them both home now." She walks out to the car with a tipsy Tess and a drunk Nicky.

Andie drops Tess off at her house first before driving Nicky to his cottage. "Walk me in, Belle?" Nicky asks. "I don't want to trip on the steps."

Andie helps Nicky to the front door. She has a feeling he's milking this drunk thing. She wonders if he's really drunk at all or if he and Cody planned this so she'd agree to drive him home. Nicky stumbles up the steps to the cottage so Andie gives him the benefit of the doubt. She helps him in the door.

"Where's my bed?" Nicky asks.

Andie sighs, unsure if he's faking drunk or not. "I'll show you." Andie leads Nicky to the bedroom. Nicky falls on the bed.

"Okay, you're safe in bed, Nick. I'm leaving now." Andie turns to leave.

"Can't I have one little goodnight kiss, Belle?"

Andie knows it's probably a mistake but she agrees because she wants to feel his lips on hers again. He's so cute when he's drunk or faking drunk. "Just one." She leans over to give him a soft kiss on the lips but he pulls her down on top of him.

"Ha, ha, gotcha," He says. He kisses her again. She goes with it, kissing him back. It's been so long.

His hands start roaming her body. She hopes he really is drunk so he doesn't notice her sixteen and a half week baby pouch. He pulls her shirt off first and then her bra.

"Oh well." She thinks, before pulling his fly down and ripping his pants open. This pregnancy business has been hell for her so far. She figures she's entitled to some fun, to be happy for a little while. She nudges his pants down.

Nicky pulls off her jeans and belly band. She hopes he doesn't know what the belly band is for or that he's too drunk to care. He flips her on the bed so he's on top of her now. He's inside her in a flash. She wonders if he can even notice the pouch as he slides back and forth on top of her. Probably not, she figures he didn't show any kind of reaction. He probably just thinks she put on a little weight.

She kisses him with unbelievable passion. It's been months and months since they've been together like this. "Ready?" He looks her in the eye.

"Ready." She nods. "Mmm!" She moans, while he groans. They climax together. We still got it, she thinks. They've always managed to have pefect timing, climaxing in perfect synch with each other. She's grateful the pregnancy hasn't screwed that up on her. "I've missed you." She whispers to him afterward. They lie for a minute breathing deeply before he slurs. "We're awesome together." A minute later he's asleep. He must really be drunk, she thinks to herself. He always smokes a cigarette after sex. He never falls asleep this fast. She lies with him a few minutes before getting dressed. Andie gives Nicky a sweet kiss on the lips before she sneaks out. She wonders if he'll remember their reunion in the sheets tomorrow or if he's too drunk. She gets in her car and drives home.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: I love the feedback. I'm happy to answer all of your reviews in a pm (personal message). I can't answer the anonymous reviews (non registered) without giving spoilers away to the rest of the readers. I don't want anyone stressing over this fic so I will tell you that Charlotte and Cooper will find out about the pregnancy. I'm not dragging it out. The point is that Andie is terrified to disappoint her parents so she keeps coming up with excuses to not tell them about the baby. They will find out. If you have further questions and don't want to open an account on fanfic you can send me a tweet. I will inform you what chapter Charlotte and Cooper find out Andie is pregnant in a personal message on twitter or here. My twitter name is SunkissedGurlFF. Once again thank y'all for readingreviewing =).**_

_**In response to "No more Bullies":**_

_**I want to assure you that I always end my stories with a happy ending, however, there are going to be bumps and twists happening before we get there or else this would be a boring story ;). Bullying is a common issue among students in Noah's age group in real life. I feel I would be neglectful to leave it out of the story. If it upsets you please don't read. It is my intention to entertain, not to stress anyone out. But remember there will be a happy ending, keeping in mind this is a long story. If you want to know how long or anything else pm me here or on twitter. Thanks =)**_


	100. Chapter 100

_**CHAPTER 100**_

* * *

><p>Andie puts three hundred dollars back into the envelope in Charlotte's dresser. Now there's only two hundred missing from Charlotte's stash. She hopes to replace it before her momma knows it's missing. She should be able to replace all the money when she gets her next paycheck. Andie walks out of Charlotte's bedroom. "Whatcha doin' in my room, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte watches Andie walk out of the master bedroom.<p>

Andie thinks of something to tell her momma. "I couldn't find my black heels. I thought maybe you borrowed them thinking they were yours."

"Were they in there?" Charlotte asks.

"No," Andie shakes her head.

"This is why I tell you kids to put your things away so you can find them later."

"Yes momma." Andie nods and goes back to her room.

* * *

><p>Lila knocks on Marley's door. "What are you dong here?" Marley asks. "I thought you were grounded?"<p>

"I'm done with my punishment." Lila walks in Marley's house. "I promised Violet and Pete I would be a good little girl for now on." Lila plops down on Marley's couch.

"Oh." Marley sits next to Lila. "Are you going to be?"

Lila nods."They got really mad at me for posting that video of Morgan. I had to listen to Violet go on and on about how I would have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life if Morgan died. And Pete went on and on about my weight. He still thinks I have an eating disorder."

"Why are you calling your parents by their first names?" Marley asks.

"I feel like it. I'm sick of them lecturing me about Morgan and starving myself. It's all I hear about anymore."

"So why do you do it?"

"Do what?" Lila asks.

"Why do you starve yourself? You're so skinny already. You could eat anything you want." Marley insists.

Lila answers Marley in a firm tone. "_YOU _don't have to starve yourself or vomit up your food to look good. _YOU_ don't need to smoke weed to be popular. I do!"

Marley sits next to Lila. "You think _I'm_ popular? I thought I was a dork?"

"Everyone likes you." Lila goes on. "You're super smart and pretty you don't smoke weed anymore."

"You're pretty Lila and you don't _have_ to smoke weed to make people think you're cool." Marley tells her. "I get good grades but I study to get them."

"I want to give up the weed." Lila tells her. "But I'm afraid Dylan will think I'm a dork then he won't want to hang with me anymore."

Marley suggests. "Maybe Dylan thinks the same thing about you, maybe he thinks you won't think he's cool if he gives up the weed."

"You think so?" Lila asks.

"It's possible." Marley tells her.

"How can I find out?"

"Ask him?" Marley suggests.

Lila laughs. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"So are you gonna ask him?"

"I don't know." Lila shrugs. "I want to ask him to the spring social. Are you going with Noah?" Lila asks.

"Yep."

Lila tells Marley. "I'm fourteen and I never I kissed anyone. Do you think that makes me lame?"

"No." Marley answers.

"I want to kiss someone so bad."

"Why?"Marley laughs.

"I don't want to be lame."

"You will never be lame." Marley tells her. "I've kissed Noah and people still think I'm lame just because I get all A's."

"So, how do we change our images?" Lila asks.

"I'm not going to start getting B's to change my image. That's why Noah and I smoke with you guys so you don't think we're dorks."

"Really?" Lila asks.

"Well, we like the way it makes us feel too but it's wrong so we probably wouldn't do it just for that reason."

"You're making me feel even more lame now." Lila tells her. "I'm corrupting you."

"I didn't mean it like that. In the end it's my choice to smoke it."

"I won't offer it to you guys anymore." Lila tells her. "If you want it you're going to have to come to me and ask for it."

"Fair deal." Marely smiles

* * *

><p>Tess and Andie are at the mall looking for prom dresses. "Thanks so much for staying with me for the amniocentesis results the other day." Andie tells Tess as they walk through the mall. "Let's go to the food court after we find our dresses. It'll be my treat."<p>

"No prob." Tess responds. "That's what good friends are for." Tess looks in the shop windows for a dress for her junior prom. "It's great that Tyler agreed to go to the prom with you." Tess tells Andie. "You're lucky to have a friend like Tyler."

Andie nods. "I need to tell you something. I'm dying to tell someone."

"What?"

"I slept with Nicky after I dropped you off from the bar the other night." Andie tells Tess.

"Holy crap!" Tess looks at her. "So he must know you're pregnant now?"

"I don't think so, he was drunk. He texted me that he wants to talk. He didn't mention anything about my bump in the text."

"I can't believe you slept with him again." Tess looks at dresses while window shopping.

Andie shrugs. "It doesn't change anything."

"Why don't you just tell him you're still pregnant now that you know the baby's healthy? He's going to find out sooner or later."

"Nicky has a temper. He'll let it loose on me when he finds out I never had the abortion. I'm not ready to deal with that yet."

"When will you be ready to deal with it?"

"When the time's right I'll know." Andie looks at a dress through the store window.

"Well, I think it's great that you're still going to the prom and it's even greater that Tyler agreed to take you considering he has a girlfriend now."

"I'm paying for his ticket and his tuxedo." Andie shrugs. "It's not costing him anything. He gets a free night out with good food and I don't think Allison minds."

"Why? I thought Allison hated you?" Tess asks.

"She did because I took Nicky back from her but now she knows Nicky and I are broken up. That makes her happy."

Tess laughs. "Tyler's a lucky dude. Did he tell Allison that you're pregnant?"

"I don't know." Andie shrugs. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he told her everything."

Tess responds. "So that's one more person that probably knows. When are you going to tell your parents you're pregnant? You don't want them to be the last ones to know."

"I'll tell them when I get back from Europe, before I start at UCLA. I'll be close to eight months then." Andie sighs. "I'm hoping they'll have sympathy and take it easy on me. Who's going to scream at someone who's almost eight months pregnant?"

"Smart thinking." Tess nods. The girls go into the store to try on dresses.

"Help me find one that doesn't give anyone a hint that I'm pregnant." Andie tells Tess.

"You'll be fine. You just can't wear anything that's too tight around the waist."

"But I'll probably be showing by the prom." Andie tells her. "I already have a bump and it's going to get bigger." Andie starts to freak a little. "You need to help me find a dress so nobody can see the bump."

"Okay." Tess tells her. "Then, you have to help me find a dress the will make your brother drool over me at my junior prom."

Andie laughs. "Deal."

Andie and Tess look around the shop. "Oh my God! I found a dress." Andie takes an elegant silver taffeta A-line dress off the rack to show Tess. It has a sweetheart neckline and pulls in tight at the waist. "Isn't this dress incredible?"

"It's gorgeous." Tess agrees. "Try it on."

Tess follows Andie to the fitting rooms. After a few minutes, Andie comes out of the stall with the dress on. The silver dress pulls in tight at the waist and accentuates Andie's small bump.

"The dress is gorgeous." Tess says when she first notices Andie walk out in it. Her eyes gravitate to Andie's waist, her mouth gapes open. "But it doesn't hide your bump. It makes it stand out."

Andie looks in the mirror. She runs her hand over her belly bump. "It figures. I love this dress, aside from the waist it would be great if I wasn't pregnant."

"Sorry, Andie, I wanted to be honest. It looks amazing on you. If it wasn't for the bump it would be the perfect dress."

"I can't wear it." Andie looks in the mirror, shaking her head. "Look how small the waist is. By the time of the prom I'll be twenty weeks. There's no way I could pull that off." She takes the dress off and hands it to Tess. "Here, you try it on."

Tess takes the dress from Andie and goes into the fitting room. She comes out to show Andie the dress a few minutes later.

"Oh my God. You look amazing in that dress." Andie tells Tess.

"I love it." Tess smiles as she looks at herself in the mirror. "Do you mind if I buy it for my junior prom?" Tess asks.

"One of us might as well be able to wear it."

"Okay." Tess smiles. "After I pay for it we're going to find you the perfect dress."

Andie and Tess shop at three different stores looking for dresses for Andie. Andie tries a similiar silver dress with a different waistline.

"That one looks good." Tess tells her.

"It looks good now but picture me in another month. My bump will be even bigger." For the first time Andie truly regrets being pregnant. She wants the prom dress that Tess bought or at least one that she doesn't look like an elephant in. "I'm thirsty. Let's take a break from dresses and get something to drink."

The girls walk to the food court. Andie orders two slushies; one for her and one for Tess. "Maybe, I'll just skip the prom."

"You can't do that." Tess tells her. "I heard the school booked Nicky's band to play at the senior prom."

"That sucks for me." Andie tells her. "I wish he was playing at the junior prom instead."

"Me too." Tess nods and sips on her slushy. "Nicky's band is the bomb."

"That's why the school wanted to snag his band to play at the prom." Andie tells Tess.

"You'd think he'd turn our school down since he knows you go there." Tess suggests.

"Are you kidding? This way he gets to see me."

"He's got it bad for you." Tess tells Andie. "You don't know how lucky you are to have a guy like that want you so bad?"

"I don't feel lucky today. I can't find one decent dress that looks good on me." Andie sulks. "I hate being pregnant."

"Andie?" Tess warns. "It's a little late to feel that way now. You're seventeen weeks."

"I can't have any fun. I couldn't drink with you when we went out. I can't buy the dress I want and worst of all I can't be with Nicky cuz he'll know."

"I'm sorry it sucks." Tess puts her arm on Andie's back. "I think you should tell Nicky though. I don't think he'll blow up at you. He loves you too much."

"He sends me 'I'm sorry' bouquets once a week." Andie reveals.

"You should tell him you never had the abortion." Tess insists. "Things couldn't get worse than they already are now if you don't tell him."

"He'll hate me because I misled him into thinking I had an abortion." Andie and Tess sip on the blue raspberry slushies at the food court. "I can't deal with another huge fight with him."

Tess sighs. "What a mess."

"Tell me about it." Andie shrugs.

Tess rises to her feet now. "Come on. We're not leaving this mall until we find a dress that makes you look beautiful. You're going to sparkle at your prom."

Andie throws her slushy away. "That's gonna take a miracle."

The girls search two more shops for a dress that will hide Andie's growing baby bump with no luck. Tess decides to talk to the owner of the next shop they walk in while Andie looks around. She explains Andie's situation to the owner about finding a nice dress that will conceal her bump. The owner brings a dress out from the back room. It's a floor length organza ball gown.

"This is a popular prom dress." The owner shows it to the girls. "I've already sold several of them this year. This is the last one I have left in this color."

"I guess it looks okay." Andie looks over the raspberry colored dress.

"It's strapless so it'll accentuate your thin arms." The owner shows Andie. "It has netting that comes down from the neckline and over the waist." The older woman lifts the dress up to show the two girls. "This dress will help conceal your waist, dear. Do you want to try it on?"

Andie looks at the dress. It's pretty and poofy but not her style. She thinks about the dress Tess bought. That's her style but she could never pull it off with her expanding baby bump. "It's pretty." Andie tells the owner. "It's just not something I would normally wear."

The owner tells Andie. "It's a popular dress for girls who don't have the body of a supermodel but want to look like they do. The strapless design will accentuate your upper body and the waistline will conceal any bulges, and it's a beautiful gown."

"I'll try it on." Andie gives a weak smile, while reaching for the dress. Andie takes the dress into the fitting room. After she has it on she shows Tess.

"You look like a princess." Tess tells her. "That's the dress." Tess is getting tired. They've been shopping all day.

The owner looks on. "It does look beautiful on you, dear, and you see how it conceals your tummy." The owner touches Andie's waist to point out the netting that covers it. "You have some slack in the waist but you can bring it back to me if it needs to be altered by the time of your prom."

Andie looks in the mirror. The dress is a beautiful color and it looks nice on her. "I guess this is as good as it's gonna get for me." Andie stares in the mirror. 'Okay. I'll take it."

"The color looks pretty on you. It goes nice with your red hair." The owner tells Andie. "I may need to alter it depending on how much your tummy grows before the prom. You have some slack but if I need to alter it give me at least a weeks notice before you need it. This is a busy time for me."

Andie hates the thought of her belly growing even bigger before the prom. "Thank you." Andie tells the owner before she steps back into the fitting room to change. The dress does look good on me, she thinks to herself.

Andie and Tess drive home. "That was a long day." Tess tells Andie.

"That's because it took forever to find a dress that doesn't make me look like a pregnant elephant."

"That dress looked beautiful on you. I love the color."

"The dress may be beautiful but it's not me. It's not something I would wear if I wasn't pregnant. It's made for fat girls to hide their bodies."

Tess giggles a little because that is kinda what the sales lady told them in a nice way.

"Stop laughing at me." Andie quips.

"Sorry." Tess responds. "You looked beautiful in it. It shows off your shoulders and skinny arms." Tess tries anything to cheer Andie up.

"Says the cat who got the cream." Andie rolls her eyes at Tess.

"Are you mad at me because I bought the dress you wanted?"

"I'm not mad at you. I told you one of us might as well have that dress. And it sure ain't gonna be me." Andie scoffs.

"Your dress is beautiful too." Tess tells Andie again.

Andie gripes. "Your dress is stunning, elegant and hot. My dress looks like Cinderella's gown, only in raspberry instead of blue."

Tess laughs. "It's not as poofy as Cinderella's gown and Cinderella didn't have any of that mesh stuff covering her gown."

"Still." Andie pouts. "I wish I wasn't pregnant."

"It's a little too late to be saying that, Andie."

"I know." Andie sighs.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, Charlotte answers a knock at the door. Nicky's standing on the steps with a bouquet of flowers. "Andie's in her room. Go ahead up." Charlotte lets him in. Nicky climbs up the stairs.<p>

"Why did you let him in?" Cooper groans at Charlotte.

"They need to talk, Coop. This can't go on with Nicky coming over every week with flowers. Andie won't see him. They need to talk." Charlotte tells Cooper but it seems more like she's trying to convince herself she did the right thing by sending Nicky up to Andie's room.

"That's all they better do is talk." Cooper grumbles.

"They wouldn't dare do anything else knowing we're home." Charlotte's voice is harsh. "Besides, Andie's been avoiding him. They need to talk this out, Cooper."

"You don't want them to get back together do you?" Cooper grimaces.

"All I want is for my daughter to be happy. If Nicky makes her happy then so be it." Charlotte walks into the kitchen. Cooper follows her.

"But she broke up with him, Chief. He's hounding her, bringing flowers every week."

"Flowers aren't the worst thing in the world, Coop." Charlotte bites into an apple.

"She broke up with him." Cooper argues. "Nicky needs to accept it and leave Andie alone."

"We don't know what happened, Cooper. She never told us."

"He cheated on her." Cooper shoots.

"We don't know that he cheated on her. Andie never said that." Charlotte shoots back.

"Why else would Andie break up with him? She was in love with him."

"And still is if you ask me." Charlotte bites into her apple. "Maybe she broke up with him because you kept insisting he was too old for her and she was missing out on her childhood."

"I was right about that."

Charlotte takes another bites of her apple. "You'd rather that your daughter be miserable and alone than with the boy she loves."

"Nicky's not a boy. He's twenty-one. He's a man."

"C'mon, Coop. I remember the first time Nicky and Andie met in our backyard. Nicky was seven and Andie was four. They were playing ball with Freggly. Nicky's just as much still a kid as Andie is. They grew up together."

"But Nicky's a couple years older." Cooper argues.

"Girls mature faster than boys, Coop, you know that."

"I don't want to argue with you about this, Chief."

"Then don't." Charlotte deadpans.

Cooper holds his hands up in surrender. "Okay, truce."

Charlotte smirks. "Grab your jacket. We're taking Drew out for ice cream."

"And leave Andie and Nicky home alone in her bedroom?"

"Let's go, Coop!" Charlotte walks out of the kitchen and calls for Drew.

Nicky knocks on the door to Andie's room. She's lying on the bed studying. "Come in." She calls out.

Nicky walks in the room with the flowers.

Andie jumps up to a sitting position. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother sent me up to see you." Nicky hands her the flowers.

Andie takes them. "Thank you."

"I've been texting you all day. You didn't answer so here I am."

"Yeah well." Andie touches the rose petals.

"I was really drunk the other night. I apologize if I did or said anything to upset you while I was drunk."

"You were fine." Andie looks up at him.

"I remember we had sex at my cottage. Or did I dream it?"

Andie sighs. "Yeah, we did. It wasn't a dream."

Nicky sits down on the bed next to Andie. She scoots back a few inches away from him.

"How did that end up happening?" Nicky asks. "I was drunk but you weren't."

"It was a mistake." Andie says. "You're very cute when you're drunk. I had a weak moment. That's how it happened."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way." Nicky looks in her eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." Andie looks at him.

"Did we use protection? Are you still on the pill?"

"Don't worry about it, Nick. It's not your problem." Andie clenches her jaw.

"It _is_ my problem. I was drunk. I don't remember using protection. I need to know that you're going to be okay. Are you back on the pill?"

She stares at him. This answers her question. He obviously didn't notice her belly bump or her belly band. "I'm okay." Andie tells him. "Now, I have a question for you."

"What?" Nicky asks.

"How could you let yourself get that drunk? I had to help you up the steps. You were stumbling."

Nicky takes a deep breath and sighs. "You were dancing, provocatively, with those guys. It got to me." Nicky explains. "I was watching you from the stage. I regretted telling you to have the abortion when I saw you dancing with those guys."

"Why?" Andie furrows her brow.

"Because if you didn't have the abortion you'd still be mine. You would be dancing like that with me, not them."

"I see." Andie nods then asks. "Is that the only reason you regret telling me to have an abortion?"

"No. I shouldn't have pressured you. I get now that it's something _you_ have to be at peace with. You have to live with that decision. I shouldn't have forced you." Nicky has tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That's why I got drunk. I was thinking about it up on stage. I have to live with myself for forcing you to do something you didn't want to do and it doesn't feel good."

Andie wants to be sure of something before telling him she's still pregnant. She asks "So, do you wish I never had the abortion?"

Nicky clears his throat. "I wish I didn't force you into it."

"So, if we could do it over, you'd want me to have the baby?"

Nicky shakes his head. "That's not what I'm saying, Belle. I don't think either one of us is ready for the responsibility of raising another human."

"I'm confused. What are you saying?" Andie's baffled. "First you say you wish I didn't get the abortion. Now you say we're not ready for a baby. Which is it Nicky?"

"I wish you never got pregnant to start with so I wouldn't have had to pressure you into the abortion."

"So, you're _not_ sorry I had the abortion? You said you were sorry before."

"I'm sorry you had the abortion because that's the reason we broke up."

"Oh, so you don't regret getting rid of the baby?" Andie asks.

"I wish you wouldn't put it that way but we're not ready to raise a little human."

"I gotcha now." Andie grumbles. "Us sleeping together the other night doesn't change anything. You can leave now." Andie gestures her eyes to the bedroom door.

"Come on, Belle. How long are you going to punish me? I know you still love me or you wouldn't have slept with me the other night."

"It was a mistake. Leave!" Andie points to the door.

Nicky sighs heavily before leaving.

**_REVIEW_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's note: To my reviewer ~~Teen mom but still cute ~~ I'm happy that you're passionate over this fanfic but keep in mind this is Andie's struggle. I'm not saying the way Andie is handling things is right or even okay. It's not! It is, however, the way Andie is dealing with it. Andie is terrified to disappoint her parents. They will suspect and find out soon enough. We'll have to see how they choose to deal with Andie once they know the truth. As far as the weed, I'm not saying it's okay but it's what these kids are doing right now. It's a story. Let's see where it goes and where these kids end up. Once again, thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate the feedback. =)<em>**


	101. Chapter 101

_**CHAPTER 101**_

* * *

><p>Cooper's in the kitchen fixing dinner. The doorbell rings. "I'll get it," Drew calls out and runs to the door. Sheldon and Sarah are standing on the front steps. Sarah's wearing her little brownie uniform. "Wanna buy some cookies, Drew?"<p>

Drew's eyes light up as he looks at the form Sarah's holding in her hand. "I love Girl Scout Cookies."

Charlotte joins Drew at the door. "Come on in, Sheldon."

Sheldon and Sarah sit on the couch while Charlotte and Drew look over the cookie order form. "I like those momma." Drew points to a picture of shortbread cookies.

"We'll take two boxes of the Trefoils for Drew, two boxes of Samoa's for Andie...-"

Sheldon corrects. "The Samoa's are called Caramel delights now."

Charlotte huffs. "I call them Samoa's and we'll need two boxes of Tag-a-longs for Noah and Chase" Charlotte ponders over the form "And two boxes of the Thin Mints for me."

"Okay." Sheldon checks off the list. "What about Cooper? What kind does he like?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm going to be hiding the cookies from Cooper. I need him alive." Charlotte smirks.

"Okay." Sheldon counts up the boxes. "That's eight boxes. It'll be fifty-five dollars. Eh, we prefer cash." Sheldon tells her.

"Fifty five dollars for cookies?" Charlotte grimaces.

"They're Girl Scout Cookies, Charlotte." Sheldon continues. " I recall Cooper hitting me up to buy them every year while Andie was in Girl Scouts."

"Fine. Hold on I've got to get some cash. " Charlotte walks upstairs to her bedroom with Drew following. She opens her top dresser drawer and pulls out her envelope of cash. She takes fifty dollars and decides to count the remainder. She counts it again.

"What's wrong, momma?" Drew asks. "Don't we have enough money to pay for the cookies?"

"We have enough for the cookies but I'm missing two hundred dollars. I guess daddy must have borrowed it without telling me." Charlotte makes a mental note to scold Cooper for touching her stash without asking first. "Here." Charlotte hands Chase fifty-five dollars. "Give this money to Uncle Sheldon for the cookies." Drew runs downstairs with the money. He passes Cooper on the way. "Ooooh, you're in trouble." Drew tells Cooper.

"For what?" Cooper curls up his nose.

"For stealing money from momma's stash." Drew yells as he runs down the steps to meet Sheldon.

Charlotte's putting the envelope away when Cooper walks in. "Dinner's ready." Cooper tells her.

"Did you take two hundred dollars out of my stash?" Charlotte asks.

"No." Cooper shrugs. "I would have told you if I did."

"Well, someone did. There's two hundred dollars missing out of the envelope."

"Are you sure you counted right? Cooper asks.

Charlotte tosses him the envelope. "Count it yourself. There should be one thousand dollars there. I counted it three times and it came up short by two hundred each time."

Cooper counts the money. "There's seven hundred and fifty dollars here."

"I just gave Drew fifty dollars to pay Sheldon for Girl Scout Cookies."

Cooper's eyes light up. "Did you remember to order me the Somoa's? The Samoa's and Thin Mints are my favorite."

"Never mind the cookies. I want to know where my missing two hundred dollars went. I keep a thousand in cash on hand just in case."

"Are you sure you didn't use it for something and forget to replace it?" Cooper asks.

"I'm sure."

"Then one of the kids must have took it."

"Which one?" Charlotte twists her mouth thinking.

"It's safe to say it's not Drew. He's only six." Cooper says.

"What about Andie?"

"Andie has a job now. She wouldn't need to take money from your stash." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"Chase?" Charlotte asks and they both agree. "No. Not Chase."

"Noah?" Charlotte asks.

"Do you think he's smoking marijuana again and needed the money for that?"

"It's possible," Charlotte answers. "He is the one that snuck the car out with his friends and scratched it up...-"

"To cover up the fact that they were smoking weed." Cooper adds.

"Then he lied to us when we asked him if he knew who posted that video of Morgan."

Cooper shakes his head. "Turns out he was in on it."

"We'll ask them about it at dinner." Charlotte walks out of the bedroom. "Come on."

Charlotte and Cooper enter the kitchen. The kids are already seated at the table and starting to eat.

"Sorry." Andie says. "But we were starving and you two were taking too long up in your bedroom. We didn't want to wait for you to finish to eat our dinner."

"We were talking." Cooper tells his daughter as he fixes a plate.

"That was some long conversation. Sheldon and Sara said goodbye." Chase says. "What were you talking about?"

Charlotte shoots. "We were trying to figure out which one of you took two hundred dollars from my stash."

"Not me!" Drew yells out.

"Not me, either!" Noah calls out.

Chase and Andie stay quiet.

Cooper looks at Noah. "Noah, is there something you want to tell us?"

Noah looks up. "Why do you automatically think it was me?"

Charlotte answers. "You're the one who took my car out with your friends and scratched it up. You lied about Morgan."

"Are you smoking marijuana again, Noah? Cooper asks. "Is that why you took the money?"

"I didn't take the money. Why do you always blame me?"

Cooper answers. "Andie has a job and makes her own money. She has no reason to take money from us. Drew's only six and Chase, well…Chase is …Chase."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chase puts his fork down and looks at his parents.

"It means you're a goody two shoes." Noah tells Chase.

Andie looks around with a knot in her stomach. She wishes that she wasn't pregnant anymore. She wishes she never took the money for the amniocentesis.

Noah points at Drew. "It doesn't matter if he's six. Drew could have taken the money to buy candy. He loves candy and you don't let him have it that much."

"Two hundred dollars worth of candy is a lot. We would notice it and he'd be sick by now if he bought that much candy." Cooper responds.

"Drew could have took the money to buy video games." Noah still points the finger at Drew.

"We would have to drive him to the store to buy them and we'd notice if he was playing any new games that we didn't buy for him." Cooper rebuttals Noah.

"Maybe Squirt has them hidden in his room." Noah persists.

"I do not!" Drew yells. "It wasn't me. "I didn't steal the money!"

"Me neither!" Noah gets up to leave the table.

"If you tell us now we'll go easier on you than if we find out you're smoking marijuana later." Cooper lectures. "We could send a drug screen on you to find out."

"I don't believe this!" Noah yells. "I'm outta here. Forever!" Noah leaves the house, slamming the door.

Andie starts crying. "I took the money. It wasn't Noah. I'm sorry."

Charlotte looks at Andie. "You don't have to cover for your brother, Sweet Pea."

"I'm not covering for Noah." Andie wipes her eyes. "I really took it."

"Why didn't you say anything before we grilled Noah over the coals?" Charlotte asks.

"Because I didn't want you to say I can't go to Europe because I took the money. I really want to go to Europe with Danielle this summer." Andie confesses.

"Why did you need two hundred dollars, Andie Candy?" Cooper asks.

Andie thinks quick. "It was for my prom dress and shoes. Plus, I have to pay for Tyler's ticket, tux and shoe rental. I went over budget of the money you gave me to spend on the prom."

"Why didn't you just ask us for more?" Cooper asks.

"I thought you would think it was ridiculous to spend that much money on a prom dress but I really liked it _and_ it's not fair you have to pay for Tyler's ticket and tuxedo rental. He's coming to the prom as a favor to me so I offered to pay for all his stuff. I was going to put the money back as soon as I got my next paycheck. Honest I was." Andie cries.

Charlotte hugs her. "I believe you, Sweet Pea. I just wish you would have said something before we accused Noah."

"I'm sorry." Andie sniffles. "I'll call Noah and apologize."

"This must be one hell of a prom dress." Cooper says. "I can't wait to see what kind of dress you went over budget on."

"It's still at the shop, daddy. The seamstress needed to make alterations." Andie lies.

"I bet it's a knockout." Charlotte smiles at Andie.

"Isn't Nicky's band going to play at your senior prom?" Chase asks.

"Yep." Andie nods.

"No wonder you wanted a knock out dress." Cooper eats his chicken.

Andie sighs because her dress is certainly not the kind of knock out dress she wanted.

* * *

><p>Noah leaves the house and notices Suzanna in her driveway. "What are you doing?" He asks.<p>

"I'm waiting for my brother to pick me up and drive me to Cole's house." Suzie answers. "We need to study for the math test."

"Can I come? Marley and I could study for the test with you and Cole."

"Yeah, sure. Here's Nicky now." Nicky pulls up. Suzie and Noah jump into the backseat of Nicky's car.

"Thanks for for the ride, Nicky." Suzie tells her older brother.

"No problem, it's a Tuesday night." Nicky tells them. "I have nothing better to do."

"You could always study for one of your classes at UCLA." Suzie tells him. "Or you could play your guitar."

"I don't feel like doing either of those things tonight." Nicky looks in the rear view mirror and asks Noah. "How's Andie doing?"

"Who cares?" Noah shrugs. "I hate my family."

"Why?" Suzie asks.

"Someone stole two hundred dollars from my parents and they automatically blame me."

"Why do they blame you?" Suzie asks.

"They don't trust me because I got caught smoking weed with Lila and Dylan. Dylan borrowed my mom's car and scratched it up and now they don't trust me for life."

Nicky chuckles to himself as he drives. "Kids," he thinks.

"Who do you think stole the money?" Suzie asks.

"I don't know. My parents say it's not Drew cuz he's too young. Chase can do no wrong in their eyes and Andie has a job so she doesn't need the money. That leaves me."

"Andie has a job?" Nicky asks through the rear view mirror. "Where?"

"At Petco, but just on weekends now. She worked like crazy when they first hired her but now she cut her hours to weekends only." Noah tells Nicky.

"I guess that's good." Nicky shrugs.

Noah phone buzzes. He reads a text message.

"Who's that from?" Suzie asks.

"My sister."

"What did she say?" Suzie asks.

"She said sorry because she took the money. She confessed about it to my parents after I left."

"Why did Andie take the money?" Suzie asks. Nicky ears perk up, listening.

Noah gets another text from Andie. He reads it out loud. "Sorry. I needed the money for prom stuff. Mom and dad will call 2 say sorry after dinner."

"That's good news." Suzie tells Noah. "Now that Andie confessed they know it wasn't you."

"Too late. I'm shutting my phone off." Noah clicks off his phone and sticks it back in his pocket.

"Who's Andie going to the prom with?" Nicky asks.

"Tyler." Noah tells him.

"Are they going as friends or more?" Nicky asks.

"I think they're just friends." Noah tells Nicky. "My sister basically goes to school and comes home and studies, then she works on the weekends at the pet store. She doesn't socialize with anyone, so she had to ask Tyler. He's her only guy friend besides you. I guess. I don't know what you two are to each other anymore." Noah shrugs

"How come she doesn't want to socialize with anyone?" Nicky asks.

"Because, she doesn't. She stays home and studies at night so she gets all A's. My parents told her if she graduated with an A average they would send her to Europe this summer as a graduation gift."

"Who's she going to Europe with?"

"Danielle. I think Lucas and Tyler are going to meet them for part of the summer but not the whole trip."

"Here we are. You can drop us off here." Suzie tells her older brother.

"Does Tyler still live here?" Nicky asks.

"He splits his time. He lives here part time and the other half the time he lives at his father's house." Suzie tells him."There's his car. He's here this week."

"Good." Nicky gets out of the car. "I want to talk to Tyler."

The three of them ring the doorbell. Marley answers. "Yay! You're here Noah. I just tried to call you but your phone is off."

"I shut it off on purpose." Noah tells her as he walks in the house.

"Why?" Marley asks "Your parents just called me. They're looking for you."

"Let's go talk in your room. I'll tell you all about it." Marley and Noah disappear into the house.

"Is Tyler around?" Nicky asks Cole Jr.

"He's in his room." Cole Jr. points. "It's upstairs, the first room on the right."

"Thanks." Nicky heads up the stairs and knocks on Tyler's door.

"Come in." Tyler calls out. He looks up. His eyes pop to see Nicky standing in his room. "What are you doing here, Poulos?"

"What's going on with you and my girlfriend?" Nicky asks.

"If you're referring to Andie, she's your ex-girlfriend and nothing is going on between us. We're just friends."

"Why are you taking her to the prom?"

"She asked me to go with her. She's paying for everything including my Tux rental."

"Do I still have a shot with her?" Nicky asks.

"You have to ask her that."

"She's not talking to me again." Nicky tells Tyler. "She won't answer any of my calls or texts I sent today."

"You hurt her pretty bad when you demanded she have the abortion."

"She told you about that?" Nicky's surprised.

"She needed someone. Danielle's across the country so I was it." Tyler responds.

"Yeah." Nicky says. "She's having a rough time regretting she did it. How long do you think she'll punish me for it?"

"It's not my business." Tyler holds his hands up like surrendering. "I'm not getting in the middle."

"Okay. I'm leaving." Nicky tells Tyler. "When you see Andie tell her I miss her."

"Will do." Tyler tells him.


	102. Chapter 102

**_A/N- I'm going to try my best to update every day up until the chapter Charlotte and Cooper find out for sure that Andie is pregnant. A lot of you are anxious for this to happen and it will. I'm excited for your feedback._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>CHAPTER 102<em>**

"I'm not going home," Noah tells Marley. "You think I could hang out and sleep in your closet tonight? We could call Lila and ask her to bring some weed over."

"Are you serious?" Marley's taken back. "You're usually the one to talk me out of smoking."

Noah shrugs. "My parents don't believe anything I say. They think I stole money from them to buy weed so I might as well smoke it."

"My mother leaves for work early in the morning so you can hide in my closet tonight but I don't know about the weed."

"Why not? They don't trust me anyway." Noah shrugs.

"Let's wait until tomorrow. If you still want to smoke it we can ask Lila but don't do it now while you're mad at your parents. You're too emotional right now."

"Okay." Noah opens Marley's closet. "It's a good thing you have a walk in closet. There's lots of room for me to put a sleeping bag in here."

Jolie knocks on Marley's door. "Scott wants to say hi to you, Marles."

Marley makes a face. "What's wrong? Don't you like your mom's boyfriend?" Noah asks.

"Not really. She'll never get back with my dad if he's around. He's trying to win me and Cole jr over with gifts." Marley tells Noah.

"What does Cole Jr think?"

"I don't know." Marley scrunches her face. "My brother Dylan is happy because my dad is free to screw his mom." She scowls.

Marley and Noah go into the hall. "Hi, Marley." Scott says. "How are you?" What are you doing here so late, Noah?"

"We were studying for our math exam." Noah tells them.

"Scott and I are going to watch tv in my room. Goodnight Marley." Jolie hugs her daughter. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay." Marley answers.

Marley goes back in her bedroom with Noah. "Watch tv, my ass. You know what they're going to do in there."

"They're adults. It's not illegal." Noah tells Marley.

"I don't like it. It makes me uncomfortable." Marley complains.

"Did you tell your mom?" Noah asks.

"What good will that do?" Marley answers. "She's going through some mid life crisis. Scott makes her feel young because he's young."

"You just have to suck it up then. It'll pass."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Scott's younger. He'll eventually dump my mother and hurt her."

"Your mother's a big girl, Marz Barz."

"My dad hurt her by getting Amelia pregnant with Dylan way back when. I just want my mother to be happy. I don't think Scott is it."

"There's not much you can do about it. It's her life."

"I know."

Noah laughs.

"What's so funny?" Marley asks.

"It's like you're the mom and your mother is the kid."

"It feels like that." Marley sighs. "Come on, let's study and then we'll set up the closet for you to stay over. Scott's sleeping over with my mom tonight anyway. They won't notice you're here."

* * *

><p>"Where do you think Noah is?" Charlotte looks at her watch.<p>

"At Marley's." Cooper answers.

"Why won't either of them return our calls?" Charlotte paces the room.

"Noah's mad at us for unjustly accusing him of stealing the money. I'll bet he told Marley not to answer her phone. I'll call Jolie if you want."

"Please do." Charlotte tells Cooper.

Jolie answers the phone. "What's up, Cooper?"

"Can you talk?" Cooper asks.

"I'm in the middle of something. Is this about work?" Jolie lies on her back while Scott kisses her neck. "It better be important for you to call me at home."

"It's not about work. I'm looking for Noah. Is he there with Marley?"

"Yes." Jolie answers both to Cooper and to Scott for what he's doing to her.

Cooper talks. "Noah's mad at Charlotte and I. We figured he went to your house to see Marley."

"Don't worry. He's safe and sound. I really have to go now, Coop." Jolie tries to talk normal as Scott's kissing down her body.

"Thanks for letting Noah hang out there tonight. Charlotte and I will talk to him tomorrow."

"No problem." Jolie hangs up the phone.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rings. Charlotte answers to find Nicky standing there with red and pink roses. "You certainly are persistent." Charlotte takes the flowers from him this time.<p>

Andie passes by the front door. Nicky spots her. "Hi, Andie." He calls out.

"Hi." Andie responds, knowing her parents are watching. She certainly doesn't want to make a scene.

"Can we please talk?" Nicky asks.

"Five minutes on the porch and that's it." Andie walks out the front door onto the porch.

"Look Andie, I'm sorry I insisted you have the abortion. I was wrong."

"We already had this discussion the other night" Andie huffs and pouts. "I'm not in the mood for round two."

Nicky continues talking anyway. "I was selfish. I only thought about how a baby would ruin our lives. I didn't think about how you felt. I read some women regret it for the rest of their life. I'm sorry if I forced you to live with that kind of guilt for the rest of your life. I understand why you hate me now."

"I don't hate you. You were right."

"What do you mean?" Nicky asks.

"A baby _would_ ruin my life."

"What made you change your mind?" Nicky asks.

Andie shrugs. "Shopping for my prom dress. I wouldn't be able to get the dress I wanted if I was pregnant. I'd look too fat in it."

Nicky laughs. "Is that it?"

"No." Andie shakes her head. "I'm going to Europe this summer with Danielle. It 's going to be an awesome trip. I couldn't do fun stuff like that if I had a baby."

"That's what I was trying to make you see the night we found out you were pregnant. I know I came off mean, like some dictator telling you to get an abortion."

"I shouldn't have fought with you about it. You were right." Andie nods. "I was thinking like a dumb kid. I was dreaming about you, me, and our baby. I imagined a perfect life but it wouldn't be. I was an idiot to think it could work."

"It can work some day, Andie." Nicky puts his arm around her. "I want it to work someday when we finish college and really get our lives started. I have big plans for our future."

"I hope so." Andie nods. "I do still love you."

"So, are we good, Belle?"

"How 'bout if we try being friends for now." Andie tells him. "I've got a lot coming up."

"Like what?" Nicky asks.

"Like studying for my finals and getting ready for the prom and my graduation. I've got too much on my plate right now to be in a relationship and then I'll be gone for the summer."

Nicky asks her. "Where are you going to college in the fall?"

"I got accepted into Yale and UCLA but I'm going to UCLA." Andie tells Nicky.

"Why would you pass up Yale?" Nicky asks. "Danielle's there."

Andie sighs. "I've got some important stuff coming up in the fall that I need to be home for. I had to say no to Yale."

"What do you have coming up in the fall?"

"It's family stuff." She's not really lying. The baby is family to her.

"It must be pretty big if you passed Yale up for it." Nicky says.

"Aha."

"So, we're friends again?" Nicky smiles. "We can talk and hang out again?"

"Friends again." Andie hugs him and wonders if he can tell the difference. She wonders if he can feel her baby bump when she presses up against him. She almost hopes he does. She's tired of keeping this secret. She's tired of being pregnant. If he notices he doesn't let on.

"Goodbye." He smiles, walking away.

"Goodbye." She waves.

* * *

><p>Noah's tries to sleep in Marley's closet while Marley tosses and turns in her bed. Noah accidentally bangs his knee into the wall. "Owww!" He yelps.<p>

"Are you okay in there?" Marley calls out to him.

"I'm okay. I just banged into the wall."

"Try and be quiet, Noah. My mother hears everything like a dog."

Scott walks in the room. "What's going on in here?" He looks at Marley. "Who are you talking to?"

"Myself." Marley answers. "I talk in my sleep."

Scott opens the closet. Noah looks at him. "What are you doing in Marley's closet, young man?"

"Uhhhh...," is all Noah can say.

"Yeah, I thought so. You'll have to leave now."

"He can't leave. It's late and he doesn't drive." Marley insists.

"That's not my problem." Scott tells Marley. "He'll have to call his parents for a ride."

Marley protests. "You can't tell us what to do. Where's my mother?"

"Your mother's sleeping. She'd be extremely disappointed if she knew you had a boy hiding in your closet. I'm helping you out by sending him home before your mother finds out." Scott explains.

"Fine. I'll leave." Noah tells Scott.

"Call your parents, young man. You better be gone before Marley's mother wakes up." Scott goes back to Jolie's bedroom.

"Are you going to call your parents?" Marley asks.

"No friggin' way am I calling them."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll walk to Lila's."

"I don't want you to walk that far at night."

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

"My father's house is around the block." Marley suggests. "He has a shed in the backyard. We could go there and nobody will find us."

"You're coming with me?" Noah asks.

"Yep. I'm coming with you." Marley puts some of her clothes in a bag.

"What about school? We have exams this week." Noah says.

"We'll still go to school and take our exams. We just won't come home after. I'm packing a bag. You can go to your house and pack a bag after school tomorrow while your parents are at work."

"Where will we sleep?" Noah asks.

"My dad's shed has electricity." Marley tells him.

* * *

><p>Andie comes back in the house. "Did you find Noah?" She asks Charlotte.<p>

"Your father called Jolie. He's over there." Charlotte answers.

"You're going to let him stay?" Andie asks.

"He's safe there. We'll talk to him tomorrow." Charlotte tells her before walking back into the kitchen.

Andie takes out her phone to call Danielle.

Danielle answers "Hey Andie. What's up?"

"I made a decision."

"What?"

"I'm giving the baby up for adoption after it's born. Nicky will never have to know I didn't go through with the abortion. My parents will never have to know I was pregnant. It's a win win situation."

"You really want to give the baby up?" Danielle asks.

"I don't want to be pregnant anymore. It's too late to do anything about it. I saw her heartbeat. I saw her move on the ultrasound. I'm going to give her to a nice family that wants her."

"I'm proud of you, Andie." Danielle says. "That's got to be a hard thing to do."

"Thank you." Andie starts to cry. "It's the best thing to do for her and for me." Andie cries into the phone.

"You're doing the right thing, Andie, I promise you. Look at me, I'm adopted. She'll be just like me."

Andie listens to Danielle and cries.

"Why are you crying, girlfriend?" Danielle asks. "You know you're doing the right thing."

"I know." Andie breathes while sniffling back some tears. "I cry over everything now. I'm so pathetic."

"It's probably the hormones. They make us emotional before our period so imagine what they do to you when your pregnant."

"I don't need to imagine it. I'm living it." Andie wipes away her tears. "I hate being pregnant. It sucks."

"Just think, it's not going to be a baby for long." Danielle says.

"Huh?"

"If you don't give it up for adoption it'll still be following you around when it's Drew's age and you'll be, let's see...about twenty four then. You'll be a different person when you're twenty four than you are now at seventeen and it'll still be following you around."

"Yikes." Andie says.

"Yep." Danielle continues. "And one day it's going to be Noah's age. You'll be about thirty-two years old then. It'll be asking you for money to buy video games and weed."

"Double yikes." Andie chuckles a little now.

"One day she's going to be your age. Maybe she'll date a hot guy who's the lead singer in a band and she'll get pregnant and hide it behind your back."

"Oh...no..." Andie chuckles. "If she's anything like me I'm in for trouble." Andie starts laughing now. "Her poor adoptive parents don't know what they're in for."

"Are you laughing or crying?" Danielle asks. "It's hard to tell over the phone."

"I'm laughing. It's these damn hormones. I hate them. I hate being pregnant." Andie warns Danielle. "Never forget to take your pill."

"I won't." Danielle laughs. "You're doing a good thing, girlfriend. There's some woman out there like my mom, who desperately wants a baby but can't have one. You're making her dreams come true by giving her your little girl."

"Can you please stop calling her _my little girl? _I don't feel right giving her up when I think of her as my and Nicky's little girl."

"Okay." Danielle concedes. "You're going to make some family very happy when you give _the baby_ to them. You'll make their dreams of parenthood come true."

"Okay, that sounds better."

Danielle sighs deep on the other end of the phone. "Good."

"How are you and Lucas doing? Did you tell him about me?"

"Yep, but he knows not to tell anybody."

"It's okay. He'll know when he sees me in Europe this summer. I'll be in my third trimester by then. It'll be hard to hide."

"Luckily, you don't have to hide it when we're in Europe."

Andie sighs. "You don't know what a huge relief it will be not having to constantly worry about my clothes and wondering if anyone can tell?"

"No chance in telling your parents?"

"No. They're over the moon proud of me right now for making all A's and being the perfect daughter. I'm not going to disappoint them now."

"When will you tell them?"

"Hopefully never. I'm going to ask my doctor how to go about adoption at my next appointment. I'll ask her to hook me up to have the baby at St. Catherine's so I don't have to have it at St. Ambrose and my parents won't ever know."

"But when you come back home from Europe you'll be in the third trimester. How will you be able to keep hiding it?"

"Creative outfits? I don't know." Andie tells her. "It'll almost be fall by then. Maybe I can get away with wearing big sweaters all day?"

"Your parents are doctor's, Andie. They'll figure it out."

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Andie tells Danielle. "I don't have to cross it yet so I don't wanna think about it."

"Okay." Danielle agrees. "Did I tell you that Lucas and I might room together next semester?"

"Sounds like fun. "Andie and Danielle continue to talk for another hour about Yale and Danielle's life.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW- If you have any concerns, ask me. I answer all my certified reviews! =)<strong>_


	103. Chapter 103

Chapter 103

* * *

><p>Andie waits on the exam table at the free clinic for her 20 week exam. Dr. Taylor enters the room. "How are you feeling today, Alexandria?"<p>

"I'm good. Please call me Andie."

The doctor listens to the baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope. "Sounds good." The doctor pokes around, feeling Andie's abdomen. She measures with a tape measure. "Everything is good. You've only gained ten pounds so far and you're twenty weeks pregnant."

"Is that normal?" Andie asks.

"It's fine. You probably lost weight early in your pregnancy before you were hospitalized for the hyperemisis."

"I lost over five pounds those first few weeks when I was vomiting." Andie tells the doctor.

"And now you've gained it all back and then some." The doctor smiles.

"So, I only weigh five pounds more now than before I got pregnant?" Andie lies back, staring at the ceiling while the doctor inspects her belly. "Is that okay for twenty weeks?" She asks.

"A lot of women would be pleased with that. You'll start putting on more weight now that you've started your fifth month."

"Really?" Andie asks.

"Oh, you'll be surprised at how fast your belly's going to grow now." The doctor informs her. "The baby's going to start growing faster. Your body will start producing more amniotic fluid which will make your belly bigger. You'll gain weight, but it's okay, it'll all for the baby." The doctor assures her. "It should come off easily after you give birth since you haven't gained much so far."

"Good." Andie nods. She thinks about how she's going to be able to conceal the pregnancy since she's going to get bigger now that she's five months. She's already had enough trouble trying to hide this small bump in her belly.

"Have you felt the baby move yet?" Dr. Taylor asks.

"No." Andie answers.

"You should start to feel her soon. In the beginning it'll feel like butterflies fluttering in your belly. As she grows bigger and stronger you'll recognize them as punches or kicks."

"I have felt fluttering." Andie tells the doctor. "I just thought it was indigestion or something but I have been feeling fluttering already."

"That's the baby." Dr. Taylor smiles.

"Oh." Andie thinks. "Will it hurt when she kicks me?" Andie asks with concern.

"Nope, the amniotic fluid serves as a cushion. Imagine a two pound baby kicking you. Do you think it would hurt?"

"No."

"You have nothing to worry about, Andie, she's not going to hurt you." Dr. Taylor smiles.

Andie shrugs and smiles at the doctor. "It's just a little freaky, that's all."

"What's freaky?" Dr. Taylor asks.

"That there's a real baby moving around inside me. It freaks me out a little, like it's some kind of alien that's invaded my body."

"Where's the baby's father?" Dr. Taylor asks.

"We broke up because he wanted me to have an abortion and I didn't want to."

"I'm sorry." Dr. Taylor rubs Andie's back.

"It's okay. The more I think about it the more I think I should have listened to him."

"Why is that?" Dr. Taylor asks with concern.

"This baby's already affecting my life in a negative way. It's only going to get worse when she's alive."

"She's already alive inside you, Andie." Dr. Taylor puts her hand on Andie's belly.

"That freaks me out. Thinking there's a living human growing in my body just freaks me out."

"It's a normal reaction to be scared. You're responsible for everything that happens with this little human while she's growing in your body." The doctor listens to Andie's belly with her stethocope.

"You mean everything I do, everything I eat, affects her?"

"Yes." Dr Taylor nods.

"Who can I speak to about putting the baby up for adoption?"

"Is that something you're considering?" Dr. Taylor asks.

"Yeah...I think it would be the best thing for both me and this baby." Andie nods.

"First, you need to speak to our adoption counselor. She'll screen you to see if you're making the right decision. We need to make sure you're committed to adoption. It's devastating for adoptive parents when the birth mother changes her mind and decides to keep the baby."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"It does. Many young girls think they're doing the best thing for the baby by putting it up for adoption but once the baby's born and they see it, they change their minds and want to keep their baby."

"Oh." Andie thinks about it.

"Like I said, it's devastating for the adoptive parents when that happens so we screen our birth mothers carefully before placing the baby up for adoption."

"Okay." Andie nods. "I'll meet with her."

"You can make an appointment with her on the way out."

* * *

><p>Marley and Noah are smoking weed in the shed behind Cole's house with Lila and Dylan.<p>

"How'd you do on your finals?" Marley asks Lila.

"Finals schminals. Who cares?" Lila inhales on her joint then passes it to Dylan. "You guys should put a little televion in here."

Dylan puffs the joint. "I have an old one at home. I could give it to you."

Noah takes the joint now. "I went and got my iPad from my parents house today when they were at work. We'll use that."

A car pulls up in the driveway. "Shit! My dad's home. Everyone be quiet!" Marley orders.

"I'm getting out of here!" Lila grabs all the weed and gets up with Dylan following.

"Aren't you going to leave us any?" Marley asks. "We gave you money for it."

Lila tosses Marley a bag of weed before leaving with Dylan.

Cole notices the light on in his tool shed in the back yard. He walks to the shed and opens the door. Noah and Marley are sitting in separate sleeping bags on the floor. Marley keeps the weed hidden in her sleeping bag. There are bags of food all around them. "What are you two doing?" Cole sits down on his ride on lawn mower and asks.

"We're living here." Noah tells him.

"In my tool shed?" Cole screws up his face.

"We both ran away from home, daddy." Marley tells him.

"Why?" Cole asks.

"Noah's parents accused him of stealing money from them. It turns out his sister was the one who stole it." Marley tells.

"Yeah, they don't trust me." Noah nods. "I can't live with people who accuse me of doing things I didn't do."

"Good 'ole Cooper jumping to conclusions. It doesn't surprise me." Cole nods.

"My momma didn't believe me either." Noah tells Cole.

"Well, being married to your father all these years was bound to rub off on her sooner or later." Cole chuckles.

"What about you, Marles?" Why are you running away?" Cole asks his daughter.

Marley looks at the ground. "Mom's boyfriend thinks he can tell me what to do but he can't. You're my father. I don't have to listen to _him._"

"What did he tell you to do?" Cole asks.

"He found Noah sleeping in my closet. He ordered him to leave before mom woke up." Marley explains. "He had no right to do that. He doesn't even live there."

"You're right." Cole clenches his jaw. "He should have let your mom deal with it."

"He thinks he can tell us what to do." Marley complains. "I can't live there if that's how it's going to be."

"Okay." Cole says. "Bring your stuff inside. You can stay in the house with me but I'm calling both of your mothers to tell them you're here."

"Yay. You're the best, daddy."

"How long did you think you could hide out in my tool shed?" Cole looks at them.

"We weren't planning on staying there very long. We were thinking about going to Islands of Adventure to live like Harry Potter after the school year ends. Noah's never been there."

"Where would you get enough money to go to Florida?" Cole asks while helping them carry their stuff into the house.

"That was the problem, daddy."

Cole laughs. "You can stay here as long as you like. But no smoking weed in my house or in my shed." He warns them.

Marley and Noah look at each other. "He knows." Marley whispers to Noah.

Cole turns around. "Yes, I know. You can stay here but don't pull any sneaky shit behind my back. Ya hear?"

"Yes, Sir." Noah answers, respectfully. He means it.

"How did you know about the weed, daddy?"

"First thing you two need to know is you can't pull the wool over my eyes." Cole answers and then says quietly to himself. "And I have a nose."

* * *

><p>Charlotte gets off the phone with Cole. "Guess where Noah is tonight?" Charlotte asks Cooper.<p>

"I'm assuming he's at Jolie's house with Marley." Cooper changes into his t-shirt and boxers for the night.

"He's at Cole's. He told Cole we falsely accused him of stealing money and he doesn't want to come home. Cole told him he could stay there."

"For how long? He's our son. I want him back home with us." Cooper whines.

"We have to do some serious apologizing. Noah's an honor's student. He gets excellent grades. He hangs out with Marley, Jolie's daughter, how could we have not trusted him?"

"You're saying our son is a dork?" Cooper smirks.

"I'm saying he's a good kid. We were wrong to accuse him."

Cooper defends their actions. "He was the most likely suspect. Drew's too young. Andie has a job and Chase is Chase. There were no other suspects." Cooper plops his head down on the pillow and yawns. "Besides, it's not like he hasn't given us a reason not to trust him. He was smoking marijauna with his friends last December and took your car out for a joy ride. Not only did they damage your car and Jolie's mailbox but they lied about it. Then there was that incident with posting that video on you tube. A girl almost killed herself over it so I say we had reason to suspect him." Cooper defends.

"Noah _is_ a good kid, Coop. He's fifteen. We don't give him as much attention as we should. If we paid more attention to what he was doing these things wouldn't have happened." Charlotte defends Noah.

"So, now this is our fault?" Cooper screws up his face.

"In this case, yes it was. Noah isn't the one who took the money and we accused him. We were wrong, Coop. We're going to have to apologize until he's sick of hearing it and he comes home." Charlotte lies down next to Cooper.

"I'm not crazy that he's staying with Cole but at least we know he's safe." Cooper pushes a strand of hair behind Charlotte's head. "I'll call Noah and apologize tomorrow until I'm blue in the face."

Charlotte smiles. "I love you, you big goofball."

"Me too, except I'm afraid to call you a big goofball without getting my shins broken."

"You better believe it." Charlotte smiles.

Cooper gives her a gentle kiss before they close their eyes for the night and go to sleep.


	104. Chapter 104

_**CHAPTER 104**_

* * *

><p>Prom night has finally arrived. Andie finishes the last touches on her makeup. Her red hair is pulled up with a few strands of curls cascading down her face. She walks over to the closet and pulls out the raspberry colored organza gown. She sighs as she slips into it. She thinks about the prom dress she really wishes she was slipping into. She looks in the mirror and wants to cry. Sure, it's a beautiful dress but it's not her style. It's not the dress she would have picked out if she wasn't trying to hide her now five and a half month baby bump. She's watching what she eats and trying hard not to gain weight but there's still a bump protruding out from her lower belly. If she wore the elegant form fitting dress she wanted, everyone would notice it. She sighs and walks down the steps hoping and praying she doesn't look like a fool in this poofy gown.<p>

"Oh my goodness." Charlotte says as Andie walks down the steps in the raspberry strapless gown. It poofs out at the waist. A netting cover drapes down from the neck to the waistline that helps conceal anything. Her red hair is pulled into an up do with curls cascading down from the up do framing her face.

"Our very own princess." Cooper snaps pictures.

Tess and Chase are also downstairs preparing to leave for their junior prom. Tess is wearing the tafetta silver A line dress that Andie originally picked out to wear for herself. It pulls in tight at the waist. The dress looks stunning on non-pregnant Tess. Andie wants to cry but she can't. The door bell rings. Cooper answers it. Tyler's standing outside in the tux Andie rented for him. He has a corsage for Andie. He pins it on her.

"You look like a beautiful princess." Tess tells Andie, trying to cheer her up. Tess is well aware that she's wearing the dress Andie wanted.

"You both look fabulous." Cooper takes a picture of Andie and Tess and then Tess and Chase. He takes some of Andie and Chase and of Andie and Tyler.

"Enough pictures, dad!" Andie gripes. Truth be told she doesn't want to be reminded of what she looked like for her prom.

"You look like a princess." Cooper teases her. "I remember when you used to dress up like a princess when you were a little girl."

Andie's face drops. "This is a prom dress, daddy, it's not a dress up princess dress."

"I know that, Andy Candy. I wasn't trying to insult you. The dress looks beautiful." Cooper tells her.

Tess adds. "And it doesn't poof out nearly as much as Cinderella or Belle's dresses did."

Andie's jaw drops. She asks Tess. "Why did you let me buy this dress if you really thought it looks like a princess gown?"

Chase answers for Tess. "It's your dress, not Tess's. Why did you buy it if _you_ think it looks like a princess gown?"

Tyler chimes in. "I like the dress."

Charlotte adds. "It's a beautiful gown, Sweet Pea. Don't listen to them. It doesn't look like a fairytale gown."

"Thank you, momma." Andie hugs Charlotte.

The limo arrives to pick them all up for the prom. They all climb in as Charlotte and Cooper wave goodbye. Andie tells Tess. "My parents are probably wondering why you have such a stunning dress on and I'm dressed up like Cinderella."

"Stop it, Andie." Chase scolds his sister once they're all in the limo. "It is what it is. You're pregnant, you can't wear a dress like Tess has on and the dress you're wearing looks great on you. You should be relieved it covers up the pregnancy and that's it. I don't want to hear you whining about it anymore."

Andie listens to her brother and shuts up. She knows he's right.

The limo drops Tess and Chase off first. "Bye guys! Have a good time at your junior prom." Tyler calls out.

Chase tells him. "Remember the limo is picking us up tonight so you'll need a ride home."

"We know." Tyler answers. "Allison is picking us up from Andie's prom."

Andie raises her eyebrows as the limo drives away to take her and Tyler to her high school prom. "It's mighty big of Allison to let you come with me to my prom and to pick us up."

Tyler answers. "Allison feels bad for your situation so she doesn't mind."

"You told Allison I'm pregnant?"

"She's actually happy now that you stole Nicky back from her, after I told her that you broke up with him because he demanded you get an abortion. She feels sorry for you now." Tyler tells.

"Great." Andie sighs. "I'm not looking for a pity party."

"Okay." Tyler smiles. "Let's forget you're pregnant tonight and have a blast at your prom."

"Okay." Andie nods.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper sit on the couch. "I'm glad you were able to get home in time to see the kids off to the prom." Cooper tells Charlotte.<p>

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Why do you think Andie chose that dress to waer to the prom?" Cooper asks.

"I thought she looked beautiful in it." Charlotte answers.

Cooper nods. "She did, but you know Andie. I would expect her to pick out something short and less poofy, like the dress Tess had on."

"I don't know." Charlotte shrugs. "Andie's changed these past few months. She doesn't hang out with Nicky. She stays up in her room every night and studies."

"So, she's turned into a frump since she broke up with Nicky?" Cooper asks.

Charlotte looks at Cooper. "Isn't this what you wanted, Coop? She's not with Nicky anymore. She's getting A's in school. She's home every night."

Cooper rubs his hand over his head. "Yeah, but something just isn't right with her. I sorta miss the old spunky Andie."

Charlotte sighs. "I know."

* * *

><p>Andie and Tyler arrive at the prom. They're escorted to a table with members of the drama club. Andie and Tyler sit down and exchange greetings with the group. A few minutes later Andie swallows as she watches Nicky's and his band run onto the stage. The crowd applauds for them. "Why does his band play everywhere?" Tyler rolls his eyes, complaining.<p>

Andie can't take her eyes off Nicky. He's wearing a black tux with a white shirt and a raspberry tie. How could he have known that was the color of her dress, she wonders. He must have asked Tess what color it was. She'll have to ask Tess later to see if it was just a coincidence. Nicky jumps around the stage singing Moves Like Jagger to get the crowd motivated. The other member of the drama club get up to dance leaving Andie and Tyler sitting at the table alone. Most of the girls in the crowd are screaming as they watch Nicky perform on stage. Nicky knows how to work the crowd. He does a few moves to get the crowd even more wound up, while Andie rolls her eyes. The rest of the band members are dressed in tuxedo's with different color ties with the exception of Jodi the female singer. She's wearing a little sexy black dress. Andie sighs.

Tyler munches on some hor devours and complains to Andie. "Nicky's a piece of work. He's got some ego. Look at him strut his stuff up there. He doesn't love to be in the spotlight much, does he?" Tyler chuckles, sarcastically.

Andie munches on a cracker with cheese. "It's working for him. His band is taking off. All the schools wanted to book him for their proms tonight but he picked ours."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Tyler's voice is filled with sarcasm tonight.

Andie rolls her eyes at Tyler. "Not because of me. Nicky graduated from this school, of course, he's going to pick his own school to play at." Andie answers.

"He would play at whatever school you were going to." Tyler tells her. "He's in love with you for whatever reason."

Andie grimaces at Tyler. "What's the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Look around, Andie. He could have any girl in this room tonight but for some reason he only wants to be with you."

"Ugh!" Andie scowls at Tyler. "What do you think I am? Some kind of ugly pig faced wench?"

"I didn't mean that." Tyler explains." But I don't get it. You keep shooting Nicky down. I don't get why the dude doesn't move on. It's not like he'd have a hard time getting a date."

"That's because you've never been in love." Andie tells Tyler. "You can't just walk away once you find your true love."

"If he's your true love then why are you afraid to tell him you're pregnant?" Tyler questions.

"It's complicated." Andie answers. "I don't wanna talk about it."

The band starts playing *I gotta feeling* by the Black Eyed Peas. Most of the crowd is still dancing. Nicky sings the male vocals.

"Do you want to dance?" Tyler asks.

"Nah." Andie bites into another cracker.

"C'mon, this is a good song." Tyler tells her. "Are we gonna just sit at the table and eat all night?"

"Do I look pregnant in this dress?" Andie asks.

"Not at all. I can't even tell."

"Really? Because I can tell. There's a bump here." Andie places her hand on her belly.

"Because you know it's there. You're hyper aware of it. Nobody else can see it in that dress."

"You're not just saying that so I'll get up and dance?"

"Of course not." Tyler scoffs.

Andie sighs, relieved. "Okay, that's good."

Jodi, the female singer takes the microphone now. She sings *My Life Would Suck Without You* by Kelly Clarkson. Andie thinks the song is appropriate for her and Nicky. She wonders if Nicky picked this song for his band to play at the prom because of her.

"Let's wait until the next song to dance."Andie tells Tyler. They munch on cheese and crackers and drink punch.

"I can't wait to go to Europe this summer." Andie tells Tyler.

"Yeah. We're going to have a blast." Tyler nods.

"And I'm looking forward to spending time with Danielle. She keeps me grounded when I freak out." Andie sips her punch. "I'll be in my third trimester when we're in Europe. I'll need Danielle. I may have some freak outs." Andie bites into another cracker. "Consider yourself warned."

"Aren't you worried that something might go wrong when you're in Europe. What if you go into early labor?"

"I already talked to my doctor about it. I've had an uncomplicated pregnancy. She doesn't anticipate any problems and if one should come up, they have hospitals over there just like we do here."

"Are you allowed to fly in the third trimester?"

"As long as you have clearance from your doctor. I'll be seven and a half months pregnant when we come home. It's not like I'm due the next week."

"Oh." Tyler nods.

"I'm _not_ missing this trip because I'm pregnant. I'm living my life like I normally would except no alcohol."

"You're not legal yet anyway so that shouldn't be a big deal."

Jodi sings *All The Single Ladies* now. Andie rises to her feet, pulling on Tyler's arm to dance.

"I'm not dancing to Single Ladies," Tyler scoffs.

"Then I'll dance by myself." Andie saunters onto the dance floor. She meets up with some members of the drama club. Tyler watches from the table. It's mostly girls on the dance floor anyway. When the song ends, Jodi announces to the crowd that the next song will be a slow one so grab your date. Andie notices Cody taking the microphone to sing with Jodi. Cody rarely sings lead. Nicky's the lead male vocalist and Jodi's the lead female. Andie looks at the stage for Nicky but he's not up there anymore. She wonders what could have happened to him that they have Cody singing in his place.

Tyler strolls up to Andie. He gently grabs her arm to slow dance with her. The band starts playing. Jodi starts out singing the lyrics of Taylor Swift's Song, *Love Story.*

Andie dances slowly with Tyler. Tyler rests his hands on Andie's waist while she rests her hands on both his arms. They keep about two inches of space between them since they're not a real couple. It feels a little awkward for both of them. Andie listens to Jodi sing the songs lyrics:

_~~~See the lights~~See the party and ball gowns_ ~~~~.

Nicky walks out on the dance floor now. He gently rests his hand on Andie's shoulder from behind. Tyler looks at him and releases his grasp on Andie's waist.

Andie turns around, looking over her shoulder.

"You look like a princess," Nicky tells Andie. Nicky holds his arm out. "May I have this dance, Belle?"

Tyler kisses Andie on the cheek before walking off the dance floor. Nicky gives Andie a hug before he begins to slow dance with her. She rests her face into the crook of his neck and inhales the familiar scent of his cologne. This feels right. Her eyes tear up when she lifts her head to look in his eyes. Damn hormones making her cry all the time, she thinks. He smiles at her. As she glances around the room she feels all eyes are on her. Everyone must be wondering why the male vocalist of the band picked her to dance with. Nicky pulls Andie up tight against him. She dances slowly, wrapped up in his arms.

She hopes he can't feel her baby bump as he presses up close to her while they dance. She decides to forget about that right now and enjoy this moment.

Jodi sings.~~~_Little did I know that you were Romeo~~That you were throwing pebbles~~And my daddy said stay away from Juliet~~I was crying 'to go~~~_ Andie looks up at Nicky. "Did you request for them to play this song for us?"

Nicky just smiles at her.

_~~~I sneak out to the garden to see you~~~We keep quiet cuz we're dead if they knew_~~~ Andie sighs heavily at that part, she's dead if they knew she's pregnant is all she can think.

The song goes on.

~~~_Close your eyes~~~Escape this town for a little while~~~ _Andie closes her eyes and thinks about how she's planning to escape this town and get away to Europe for a little while.

The band continues ~~~~_'Cause you were Romeo_~~~_I was a Scarlet letter_~Andie feels like she's wearing a Scarlet letter, always worrying if people will notice her bump. She won't have to feel ashamed about her scarlet letter bump in Europe.

~~~_~~~You were everything to me~~~It's a love story~~~Baby, please just say- yes."~~~_Andie wishes she could take Nicky and escape from this town but that's never going to happen. Nicky's got his band and now he's going to UCLA, plus her momma and daddy would be heartbroken is she ran off. She rests her head on Nicky's shoulder and closes her eyes enjoying this dance with him. She wishes the song would never end.

* * *

><p>Noah asks Marley to dance at the their end of year school social. She looks pretty in her dark purple taffeta dress. Her long brown hair cascades down in curls. Dylan and Lila sit at the table watching them. Lila's wearing a white dress with black trim and a matching black bow around the waist. Both boys are wearing suits and ties for the formal end of year social at the middle school. "This is like a mini prom." Dylan tells Lila. "Sure looks that way," she responds.<p>

"I'd rather be outside smoking weed." Dylan tells her.

"Not me." Lila shakes her head. "I'm giving it up. Lucas is home from school now. He's the golden child and I'm the problem child according to my parents. I need to change my image."

Dylan laughs.

"Don't your parents ever get mad at you?" Lila asks.

"My family's different. I get a free pass because I'm in remission from Hodgkins. My mom and Sheldon fight if Sheldon tries to discipline me cuz Cole is my dad, but my dad is cool, he doesn't get all over me about anything. He'll just say don't do it again, son."

"You're lucky."

"They take it easy on me cuz of the Hodgkin's. They feel grateful to have me alive. They're always worried I might relapse so how can you yell at your kid if you think they might die soon?"

"Oh?" Lila shakes her head.

Dylan continues. "My dad is much easier going than my mom and Sheldon anyway but I get away with a lot more than Marely and Cole Jr because of the cancer."

"So, basically you can get away with whatever you want and just get a tap on the wrist for it?" Lila asks.

"Pretty much." Dylan nods.

"Lucky." Lila says again.

"Nah." Dylan shakes his head. "It's not worth having cancer. I worry about relapsing all the time. Sometimes, I can't sleep at night because I worry if the cancer will come back."

"I'm sorry, Dylan that really sucks."

Dylan nods. "That's why I don't worry about smoking weed. I might as well have fun and experience as much of life as I can now while I'm in remission and feeling good because you never know when the cancer might come back."

"But it's possible that you may never relapse." Lila tries to reassure him. "The cancer may never come back."

"Yeah" Dylan nods. "Hodgkin's has a good prognosis, there's a good chance I may never relapse but with cancer there are no guarantees."

"Might as well live it up just in case." Lila takes a sip of punch.

"That's my philosophy." Dylan nods.

"Do you want to dance with me?" Lila asks. " You can count that as a life experience to put a notch on your belt."

Dylan laughs. "Okay let's give it a shot." Lila and Dylan join Noah, Marley and the other kids on the dance floor.

* * *

><p>The band finishes playing the last song. Nicky leaves the stage. He walks over to Andie and Tyler who are getting ready to leave. "Where are you going after the prom?"<p>

"Nowhere." Andie shrugs. "Tyler and I aren't a real couple so Ty's meeting up with Allison and I'm going to go home to go to sleep."

"Do you want to come hang out at the cottage with me?" Nicky asks. "It is your prom night."

Tyler rolls his eyes and walks a few steps away so they can talk privately.

"Nah." Andie shakes her head. She knows what they'll do at the cottage. He'll be sure to notice her baby bump now if he sees her without her clothes on. "I'm not on the pill anymore," she tells him.

Nicky quietly makes a suggestion in her ear. "We'll use a condom. I promise you a prom night you'll never forget."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Andie turns her head to look for Tyler so they can go home.

"You're still mad at me about the abortion?"

She doesn't answer. She's a little surprised that he has no clue she's pregnant. He didn't notice her baby bulge when she danced with him. Wow, she thinks to herself, she's five and a half months pregnant and pulling it off, nobody knows except the few people she's told. She's feeling slightly proud of herself.

"How long are you going to be mad about it?" Nicky asks. "It's getting old now."

"I'm not mad." Andie tells him. "I told you that you were right about the abortion. I'm not ready to have a baby. I didn't know it then but I know it now."

"You're growing up, Belle."

"I am." She smiles.

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" He asks.

"There's nothing to forgive." She kisses his cheek.

"Then why don't you want to be with me?"

"It's not that I don't want to be with you but right now I'm taking my father's advice and staying out of any serious relationships." She tells him. "I just want to have fun until I graduate. After graduation, next week, I'm going to Europe. We can see what happens after I get back."

Nicky looks a little disappointed. "I'm going to miss seeing you over the summer." He kisses her cheek. "What are you doing for your eighteenth birthday?"

"Nothing." Andie shrugs.

"What do you mean nothing? Eighteen is a big one."

"My parents are throwing me a graduation party next week so I don't want a birthday party too. Plus, I'm going to Europe the week after graduation. There's just too much going on at once."

"Can I at least take you out to dinner for your birthday?" He looks at her. "Please, Belle?"

"As long as you understand that it's just going to be dinner, no sex." Andie tells him. She can't have sex with him without him noticing she's pregnant at this point.

"Got it, just friends, no sex." He smiles.

Andie screws up her face and asks. "How did you know to wear a raspberry tie?"

Nicky chuckles."There's four guys in my band. I asked the sales girl to order me four ties. I told her to order one in each of the four most popular colors this season and hoped you'd be wearing one of them."

"So, you saw me before the prom?"

"I watched you get out of the limo with Tyler. I chose the closet color to match the dress." Nicky smiles.

Andie rolls her eyes."Okay then, mystery solved, bye." Andie gives Nicky a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek. She turns to look for Tyler and Allison for a ride home.


	105. Chapter 105

**CHAPTER 105**

* * *

><p>"Alexandria Georgia Freedman" The principal calls out. Andie walks up to the podium in her white cap and gown. Andie feels good today. She's comfortable getting up in front of the large crowd to accept her diploma in the baggy white graduation gown that the entire senior class has to wear. She accepts her diploma and takes a seat with her family. After the ceremony is over they take pictures and head back to the house for the graduation party.<p>

Charlotte answers the door. Danielle is the first one to arrive. "Andie's up in her room changing." Charlotte tells Andie's best friend. Danielle runs up the steps and knocks on Andie's door. "It's me, Danielle."

"Get the hell in here." Andie calls out to Danielle.

Danielle hugs Andie and checks out her baby bump. "Wow, you're pregnant."

Andie squints her eyes at Danielle. "Tell me something I don't already know."

Danielle stares at Andie's almost six month baby bump. "I knew you were pregnant but wow you really are."

"Am I that big?" Andie asks Danielle. "I've been hiding under long t-shirts and sweats for the past week. Nobody's said anything to me."

"You're wearing a tank top, so yeah, it's kind of obvious." Danielle rubs Andie's belly. "I can't believe there's a real baby in there."

Andie rolls her eyes. "I don't even want to think about it, except it keeps kicking me. It won't let me forget it's there."

"Can I feel it kick?" Danielle asks.

"Put your hand here and poke it. It'll move." Andie places Danielle's hand over her bump. Danielle poke Andie's belly. The baby moves.

"That was wicked." Danielle can't take her hand off Andie's belly. She pokes it again. The baby moves again. "That is wild!" Danielle talks to Andie's belly. "Hello there, little baby. Can you hear me in there? I'm Danielle, your momma's best friend."

Andie turns away from Danielle now. "I better get dressed for the party." Andie shows Danielle her outfit. "I think this outfit should conceal it." She pulls on a fuchsia top that flares out at the bottom with a black skirt. "What do you think?"

"I like the color but the shirt flares out on the bottom so it kind of looks like a maternity top."

"It's not a maternity top. I bought it in the junior's department at Macy's. Pregnant people don't wear this."

Danielle nods. "It's just that the top flares out. You don't have to be pregnant to wear it. I'm just saying when people wear that kind of top it leaves people questioning if they're pregnant."

"I have no choice, Danielle. I'm almost six months pregnant. I have to wear loose tops or everyone _will_ notice my protruding belly. I can't wear a big t-shirt and sweats to my graduation party."

"Okay, calm down. You only have to cover it up for two more weeks and then we go to Europe. You won't have to hide it from anyone there." Danielle assures her.

"I'll wear big t-shirts for the next two weeks." Andie and Danielle walk out of the room and down the stairs. "The big t-shirts may make me look like a slob but nobody can see my bump and they don't look like maternity shirts either."

* * *

><p>Noah and Marley walk in the front door. "Anyone home?" Noah calls out. "We heard there was a party!" He calls out.<p>

"Can we talk to you in the kitchen a moment, Noah?" Charlotte pokes her head out of the kitchen and calls out to him.

"As long as Marley can come." Noah tells her. "I want her to hear what you're going to accuse me of stealing now."

Noah and Marley stroll into the kitchen. They take a seat at the table with Charlotte and Cooper.

"We were wrong." Charlotte starts out saying. "We jumped to conclusions. We're sorry we thought you took the money."

"It's a little late for that, momma."

Cooper adds. "You're a smart kid, Noah. Put yourself in our shoes. There's two hundred dollars missing and four culprits. The first culprit has a job so we figured she wouldn't need to steal money. The second culprit has never done anything before to suggest he is capable of stealing from us. The third culprit is only six. That leaves you. You stole your mother's car so you could go get the marijuana that you forgot at Marley's house. You scratched up you mother's car and knocked down Jolie's mailbox and never told anyone. Then you were in on posting that video of Morgan. We asked you about it and you lied to us. You denied knowing anything about who posted that video of Morgan until the principal told me. If you had to pick which one of the four culprits would you suspect?"

"I made a mistake!" Noah exclaims. "The rest of the time I'm an honor's student. I'm on the basketball team. I've never been sent to the principal's office once is my life for bad behavior until that incident with Lila and Morgan. I made a mistake and I served my time. I did the punishment. Are you going to hold it against me for the rest of my life?"

"No." Charlotte says. "We were wrong to accuse you of taking that money and we're sorry. We want you to come back home." Charlotte hugs Noah. "We miss you."

Noah thinks for a minute. Truth be told, he misses his family. He misses his dad's big pancake breakfasts on weekend mornings. He even misses his little brother. After about a minute Noah responds "Okay." He sounds a bit reluctant. He doesn't want to let on how much her he misses them and wants to come back home. He still has his pride after all.

"So, that means you're going to come back home without a fight?" Cooper's asks, excited.

"Yeah." Noah smirks to himself. It seems to have worked. His parents think he's doing them a favor by coming home.

Andie and Danielle breeze into the kitchen to get some water before the party guests start to arrive. " Noah looks up at them.

"That's not a good shirt to wear for your graduation party." Noah tells Andie. "It makes you look pregnant."

Andie's caught off guard. Her eyes bulge open wide. Her face flushes. She freezes in place, staring at her brother while trying to think of a response. Charlotte and Cooper look her over now too. She swallows. "That's a terrible thing to say to me on my graduation day." She turns her back to all of them and grabs a water bottle out of the fridge. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Yeah." Danielle tells Noah. "Why not say congratulations on your graduation day instead of insulting her outfit?" Danielle tries to help Andie out.

Marley walks over to Andie and hugs her. "Congratulations on your graduation. You look great. I love your outfit."

"Thank you." Andie hugs Marley while trying to hide from her parents eyes behind the refrigerator door.

"Sorry." Noah says. "Congratulations on your high school graduation." He gets up and hugs his sister now too. "I just hate when girls wear those baggy tops that make them look pregnant if they're not."

Marley tells Noah in front of everyone. "Leave your sister alone, Noah. It's a dressy blouse. Do you expect her to wear something tight and skimpy to her graduation party?"

"I like her blouse." Danielle says before they leave the kitchen.

Charlotte and Cooper look at each other, they don't say anything.

Danielle and Andie take their waters and sit outside. Andie asks. "Did you see my parents looking at me?"

Danielle sips her water. "Yeah, well, Noah had to go and point it out. I can't believe he said that."

"Do you think they believed it was the blouse?

"Definitely." Danielle sips her water. "Don't worry about it."

Andie's still a little shaken. "I didn't lie to them. I didn't deny I was pregnant. I told Noah it was a mean thing to say on my graduation day, which is true. He meant it as an insult."

"Relax, Andie." Danielle takes another sip of water. "This is your graduation party. Enjoy it."

Andie sips her water then tells Danielle. "Maybe I should sit down all day. If I don't get up nobody can tell."

Danielle chuckles. "Okay. Let's just sit here and talk about what we're going to do in Europe."

"I'm so excited." Andie smiles now. "I can't wait."

Lucas walks into the backyard. He walks over to Andie and Danielle. Lucas gives Danielle a kiss on the lips before leaning over to give Andie a kiss on the cheek. "Congrats, high school graduate."

"Thanks." Andie kisses Lucas on the cheek.

Lucas sits down next to the girls. "And I guess I should say congrats about the little one. Danielle told me you were pregnant."

Andie looks at Lucas and shakes her head. "I don't deserve congratulations, it was an accident."

Danielle nudges Lucas in the arm. "I told you not many people here know about it so please don't talk about it at the party."

"Got it." Lucas nods.

Andie rises to her feet now. She stands in front of Lucas's chair. "Can you tell?" She asks Lucas.

"Honestly?" Lucas asks.

"Yes, honestly."

"That blouse makes you look pregnant because it's so baggy on the bottom like a maternity top." Lucas tells her.

"But can you see my belly or is it just the shirt?" Andie asks.

"Just the shirt." Lucas tells her.

Danielle pipes in. "So, people just think you're wearing a baggy shirt, Andie, they can't tell you're pregnant."

Lucas screws up his face and shakes his head.

"What?" Andie asks Lucas.

"People will wonder why you're wearing such a baggy shirt. It'll make some people suspicious."

"Great." Andie answers sarcastically, turning up her lip.

"Can't you change your top?" Daneille asks.

"I'm almost six months pregnant. It's hard to hide it in _any_ top now."Andie sighs. "This was the best I could do because it's baggy. If I wear anything that isn't baggy people will see my belly."

"What have you been wearing before today?" Lucas asks.

"I was wearing big t-shirts with these belly band things. I wear them over my pants so I don't have to button them."

"Why don't you change into that?" Danielle asks.

"Because in the past week I can barely pull my pants up over my butt. I've had to start wearing sweats with a t-shirt this past week." Andie explains.

"Really?" Danielle asks. "Your belly grew that much in one week?"

Andie answers. "The doctor says it's because the baby moved her position. She's lying more to the front now, making it harder to hide."

"So, change into your t-shirt and sweats." Lucas suggests.

"I'll look like a slob if I wear a t-shirt and sweats to my own graduation party while everyone else is dressed up."

Lucas looks at Andie. "Why are you trying to hide it? Everyone's going to find out once the baby's born anyway"

Danielle answers for Andie. "She doesn't want to tell her parents she's pregnant. It'll break their hearts."

Lucas stares at Andie. "You're not going to be one of those girls you hear about on the news are you?"

"What do you mean?" Andie asks Lucas.

"You know. One of those girls that have their baby in some random bathroom and then leave them outside of a church?"

"No. I have a doctor and I'm planning on giving her up for adoption."

"Good." Lucas warns her. "Because those girls always get caught. They always find them and they usually go to jail for abandoning the baby."

Andie screws up her face. She answers loud and annoyed at Lucas. "I'm not gonna do that! I told you I have a doctor!"

"Calm down." Danielle tells Andie. "Lucas just doesn't approve of you hiding it from your parents and Nicky."

"I don't need Lucas's approval!" Andie snaps. "It's none of his business!"

Lucas gets up. "I'm going to go in the kitchen and grab a beer."

Charlotte comes out to get her daughter. "Andie, your guests are arriving, aren't you going to say hello to them?"

"Can't they come back here and say hello to me?" Andie asks.

"Alexandria Georgia Freedman! That's rude!" Charlotte scolds her daughter. "I didn't raise you to have the manners of a flying bat. Now get in here and greet your guests!"

Andie sighs and rises to her feet. She walks in the house. Charlotte follows her back inside.

Once inside, Cooper hands Charlotte a drink. He raises his eyebrows and quietly says in her ear. "_Your_ daughter does look pregnant in that shirt."

Charlotte smacks her lips tight together and raises her eyebrows at him, before saying. "_Your_ daughter is on the pill and has been told to use condoms as a back up, she damn well better not be." She takes a sip of her drink.

"It's probably just the shirt then." Cooper says quietly before sipping on his drink.

"Let's hope." Charlotte walks away to mingle with the other guests.

Andie hugs both Violet and Pete hello. "Did you see Lucas yet?" Violet asks.

"Yep." Andie nods.

"I guess he's probably with Danielle?" Pete asks.

"Yeah. He's somewhere around here." Andie tells Pete.

Jolie comes over to hug Andie. "Congrats, baby." Jolie plays with a strand of Andie's long red hair. "I can't believe how much you've grown. I took you out for your first haircut when you were about two years old. It was an adorable little page boy cut."

"I guess I should thank you then." Andie smiles while Charlotte rolls her eyes. Charlotte clearly remembers that day and the argument she had with Cooper over the haircut.

Jolie continues. "I loved french braiding your hair and painting your nails when you were little. Your father used to bring you in to the office a lot." Jolie smiles at Andie. "Now you're all grown up."

"Not all." Cooper calls out. "She's still my baby girl!"

Andie rolls her eyes. "He likes to embarrass me." She tells Jolie.

"Your daddy loves you." Jolie tells Andie. "I loved fussing over you when he took you into the office until I had my own little girl to fuss over." Jolie plays with Marley's hair now.

"Stop it, mom." Marley complains and pulls away from Jolie.

"Teenagers." Violet makes a funny face at Jolie.

"Aren't girls so much harder than boys?" Jolie asks Violet. "Tyler and Cole jr have been a breeze but this one..." Jolie playfully tugs on Marley's hair, "likes to give me a run for my money."

"Oh yeah." Sam agrees. "Boys are much easier and you don't have to worry about them coming home pregnant."

Andie swallows and excuses herself to go back outside. Charlotte and Cooper exchange looks.

"That's right." Violet asks Sam. "How are Maya and Olivia doing?"

"Olivia's graduating from med school next year." Sam answers, proud.

"Another doctor in the family." Pete comments. "Maybe Olivia, Lucas and Danielle can go into practice together after they graduate."

Addison sips on her drink. "Danielle isn't sure she wants to go into medicine anymore."

"Really?" Violet asks. "What does she want to do?"

"She's not sure and I'm not pressuring her into anything." Addison holds her hand up. "She's her own woman now."

Andie goes back to sitting in the backyard with Danielle and Lucas. Nicky shows up in the backyard and walks over to them. Andie's eyes light up.

Lucas gets up to greet Nicky. "How ya doin', Poulos?"

Nicky shakes Lucas's hand. "Long time no see, bro, how's Yale treating you?"

"Not bad." Lucas shakes Nicky's hand.

"I hear Spell Broken's opening for The Jungle Boys on the east coast this summer?" Lucas asks.

"That's right." Nicky nods and sticks his hands in his pockets.

Lucas tell Nicky. "I'll be in Europe for the first part of the summer. Where will you be playing in August?"

"We'll be in New York in early August. We fly home at the end of the summer. I have to be home to start classes at UCLA by the end of August." Nicky tells Lucas.

"That's great, dude. I have to be back in Conneticut for Yale in August. Give me the dates of your show. I want to get some tickets."

"Tell me how many you need." Nicky offers. "I can get you VIP seats."

"Awesome, dude." Lucas hand slaps Nicky. "Danielle will still be in Europe with Andie then, I was planning on going to the concert with some of my fraternity brothers."

"No problem, just tell me how many tickets you need and I'll see what I can do." Nicky stands with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Andie gets out of her seat to hug Nicky now. "I assume you're here to see me and not Lucas."

Nicky laughs. "No." He teases. "I came for the food. I love the fried chicken the Freedman's serve up at all their shin digs."

Andie kisses his cheek. "I'm glad you could make it. I thought you and the band were playing at a party today?"

"We are. I'm on my way there now. I just wanted to stop by and say hello before I went over there. I always sing better after I see you." He teases, returning the hug.

"Glad I could be your motivation." Andie flirts with him.

"Congratulations, you're high school graduate now." Nicky holds Andie's hand as she walks him to his car. "Now your father can't harass us for dating."

"I'm going to Europe next week and then we'll see what happens when I get back at the end of the summer." Andie and Nicky stop when they reach his car parked in the street.

Nicky asks. "Can I take you out to dinner one night this week for your birthday before you leave for Europe?"

"I'd love it." Andie beams.

"You look really good." He smiles. "You look happy. I haven't seen you smile in a long time."

"I am happy." Andie grins. "I'm excited about my trip to Europe next week."

"I'll miss you."

"No you won't." Andie scoffs, teasing. "You'll be opening for the Jungle Boys while I'm in Europe. That has to be exciting for you."

"You bet it is." Nicky hugs her again. "I better get going. I'm running late." Nicky opens his car door "Can I have a kiss before I leave?"

"Why the hell not." She smiles. He presses his lips into hers. Andie wraps her arms around his neck. She freezes when she feels his hands on her hips. He stops the kiss and looks at her. Busted, she thinks.

He takes his hands off her and clears his throat. "I better go now or I'm going to be late." He tells her before he gets in his car and drives away.

Andie waves and watches him. Maybe he didn't notice, she thinks to herself. She watches his car drive down the street, wondering to herslf, if he noticed he surely would have said something, wouldn't he? Maybe he just thinks she gained weight. She'll find out when they go out to dinner, at least if he still wants to take her out for her birthday.

* * *

><p>Marley and Noah sit at a table in the backyard with Lila and Dylan, eating fried chicken and macaroni with cheese. Suzie and Cole Jr. walk over with plates of food. "Mind if we sit with you?" Suzie asks.<p>

"No problem." Noah scoots his chair over.

Noah watches Andie walk by the table. Dylan looks up at Noah. "Hey, I didn't know your sister was pregnant, dude?"

"She's not." Marley tells Dylan. "It's just her blouse."

"Looks like she's knocked up to me." Dylan bites into his fried chicken.

"Stop it, Dylan. You're being rude." Marley warns her half brother.

"I hope she's not pregnant." Suzie tells them. "My brother would be so upset. He's still in love with her."

"Maybe it's his baby." Lila spoons some macaroni and cheese into her mouth.

Suzie shakes her head. "I don't think so. They broke up months ago. Besides, Nicky would have told me and my mom if he was going to be a papa."

Marley scolds. "Would you guys stop talking about Andie like that. She's not pregnant."

"Then why is she wearing that baggy shirt?" Dylan asks.

Marley shrugs. "Maybe she likes it. Women don't have to be pregnant to wear baggy tops."

"But it makes her look fat and Andie's always been thin." Lila comments. "Why not show off her figure in something fashionable for her gradauation party instead of a sac?" Lila chuckles.

"Maybe she's put on some weight." Marley argues. "Not everyone wants to starve themselves so they can look like a bean pole."

"If you mean me, I'm eating." Lila shoves more macaroni and cheese in her mouth. "See?"

Marley wants to say that she knows Lila is going to barf her food back up but she decides to hold her tongue in front of Suzie and Cole Jr.

"Come on Dylan, meet me out front." Lila rises to her feet.

Marley looks at Noah as Dylan and Lila walk away.

"Are they going to smoke a joint?" Cole Jr. asks.

"Probably." Noah nods.

Suzie adds. "I'm glad you guys stopped smoking weed. That was smart of you. My brother's having a problem with one of the guys in his band."

"Why?" Marley asks.

"Nicky's keyboard player, Kevin, started out smoking weed and now he's doing some heavy stuff. He misses band practice a lot. Nicky's going to have to fire him from the band and find someone else if he doesn't straighten out by the summer. They're opening up for the Jungle Boys." Suzie explains.

"I thought all those band types smoked weed?" Noah asks.

"Not Nicky and Cody." Suzie answers. "They only smoke cigarettes."

"It's cool they're opening for the Jungle Boys." Marley tells Suzie. "Maybe Nicky will be famous one day."

"That's been his dream since he was a little kid." Suzie spoons macaroni and cheese into her mouth. "You're momma's mac and cheese is to die for." Suzie tells Noah.

* * *

><p>After all the guests have left for the night, Andie sits in the kitchen eating a bowl of ice cream. She thinks about her trip to Europe and ways to hide her enlarging belly for the next two weeks. People are starting to notice. Charlotte strolls into the kitchen. "How ya' doin'?" She asks her daughter.<p>

"Good." Andie spoons some chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

Charlotte doesn't hesitate. "Are you pregnant?"

Andie drops her spoon. "Momma?"

"I asked you a question." Charlotte glares at Andie, waiting for an answer.

"Who told you I'm pregnant?"

"Nobody told me. I'm askin'."

Andie pushes the bowl of ice cream away. "Why? Do you think I'm getting too fat, momma?" Andie gives Charlotte a sad look with her big blue puppy dog eyes. She looks just like her father when she makes that expression.

"I didn't say you were fat. I asked you if you were pregnant."

"Why would you ask me if I'm pregnant if you don't think I'm fat?"

"Your father and I noticed there's somethin' different about you lately, the way you're behavin', the way you're dressin'." Charlotte sits down at the table next to Andie. "Like your prom dress."

"Didn't you like my prom dress, momma?"

"It was beautiful and you looked beautiful in it but it wasn't a dress I would expect for you to pick out. I would expect you to pick something out like the dress Tess was wearing." Charlotte explains.

"What was wrong with my dress?" Andie asks.

"Nothing was wrong with it but you usually wear stuff that's more...-" Charlotte thinks of the right words. "You usually wear clothes that are form fitting. I was surprised that you picked out the dress you did. That's all. It looked beautiful on you."

Andie accuses. "You're trying to say I wore a fat girl's dress. You think I'm fat."

"I didn't come down here to tell you I think you're fat." Charlotte's voice starts to get firm. She feels like Andie's giving her the run around.

"I admit it momma. I have gained some weight since I broke up with Nicky, the love of my life. Maybe I'm using food as comfort."

"It's not just the weight. You've been actin' different lately."

Andie defends. "I broke up with the love of my life. I'm not supposed to act differently?"

Charlotte stares at Andie. She wants to believe her daughter is telling her the truth.

Andie starts to cry now. "You don't know how hard it is for me momma. You said I'd get over him but I'm not. I'm trying to get over him but I can't. He came by to see me today and I wanted to get back together with him so bad."

"Oh, Sweet Pea." Charlotte rests her hand on top of Andie's.

Andie cries to her momma. "Do you know how hard it was for me to watch other girls scream and drool over Nicky at my prom, momma? It's hard. I don't know what I'll do if he finds another girlfriend."

"Why don't you try datin' other boys?" Charlotte asks.

Andie sniffles and wipes away her tears. "I don't want to date anyone else. I'm leaving for Europe in two weeks anyway. I told Nicky we'll see what happens when I get back. Maybe we could try again. I don't know."

"You should try and date other boys too, Sweet pea." Charlotte advices. "Nicky's the only boy you've ever dated."

"I dated Tyler before Nicky." Andie reminds Charlotte.

Charlotte corrects herself. "Nicky's the only boy you've ever loved. You should try datin' other people. You might surprise yourself and fall in love."

Andie starts to cry again. "I don't want to fall in love with anyone else."

Charlotte hugs Andie's shoulders while Andie still sits in the chair. "I know it's hard, Sweet Pea. I'm here for you and so is your father."

Andie sniffles. "I'll be okay, momma. I'll be fine once I leave for Europe. Thank you for letting me go on this trip. I think it will be good for me."

Charlotte nods her head, still unsure if Andie's pregnant or not. She didn't get a straight forward enough answer to satisfy her but she's not going to push it, not now on the night of Andie's high school graduation. "Go back to eating your ice cream, Sweet Pea, you're not fat." Charlotte walks out of the kitchen.

Charlotte meets Cooper in the bedroom. "What's wrong?" He asks Charlotte.

"Why do you ask?" Charlotte changes into her pajama's.

"I know you." Cooper raises his eyebrows. "You have that look on your face again."

"What look?"

"Like you should have taken the midnight train back to Georgia a long time ago."

Charlotte corrects. "That would be Alabama. And _it would_ have been simpler back home...-"

"But you chose to stay in my world and have four kids with me."

"Our world."

"What happened now to make you think we should have went to Alabama and raised the kids?" Cooper asks.

"I really think Andie might be pregnant."

"Whhyyyy?" Cooper stretches out the word. "I thought we agreed it was the shirt?"

"I asked her. It didn't go well."

"Uh...Oh." Cooper swallows."What did she say? Is she pregnant?"

"She dodged it. She didn't answer me." Charlotte sighs. "She turned it around on me claiming I accused her of being fat. She started crying about how much she misses Nicky."

"What does your gut say? Do you think she's pregnant?"

"My gut says yes, she is." Charlotte sighs and sits down on the bed next to Cooper. "Damn, I wish she would have just said no. But, she had to go and pull the fat card."

Cooper rubs Charlotte's back before rubbing her shoulders. "Tell me why your gut is telling you our daughter is pregnant."

"Her face is gettin' fuller and she's dressin' different, that prom dress she wore, the blouse she had on today. She said she's gained weight since she broke up with Nicky."

"It's possible." Cooper rubs Charlotte's shoulders. "How about we give her the benefit of the doubt?"

Charlotte nods. "I s'pose if she is pregnant she'll have to come clean about it soon."

"This is true." Cooper nods.

"And if she's not pregnant she'll hate me for thinking she's fat."

"Did you tell her she looked fat?"

"No. I just asked her why she's dressing different. I haven't seen her wear a clingy shirt or one of those belly shirts she likes to wear in months."

Cooper suggests. "She's a high school graduate now maybe she wants to create a more mature image of herself."

Charlotte turns to look at Cooper. "Really, Coop?" Charlotte says, sarcastically. "She just graduated from high school. She's not ready to check into the old folk's home."

"Do you want me to talk to her about it?" Cooper asks, while still massaging his wife's shoulders.

"There's no sense in her being mad at the both of us. You can be good cop."

"Thanks, Chief." Cooper tweaks Charlotte on the nose.


	106. Chapter 106

_**CHAPTER 106**_

* * *

><p>Andie waits for Nicky to pick her up for her birthday dinner. She's wearing a long black top. It has a low neckline with a wide belt that drapes over the waist. The belt ties into a big knot in the front with the black sashes falling down against her abdomen. It completely hides her pregnancy. She wishes Danielle would have found this shirt for her before the graduation party, but better late than never. She bought three more shirts just like it in different colors. She plans to wear one every day before she leaves for Europe so as not to peak suspicions about her expanding almost six month pregnant belly. She had to cancel her appointment with the adoption counselor at the clinic since this was the only day Nicky could take her out to dinner. The spring is a busy time for his band with lots of proms, graduation parties and weddings. He's booked every Wednesday to Sunday night. Mondays are his bands only day off in the spring.<p>

Nicky pulls up. Andie gets in his car. "Happy birthday." He smiles.

"I'm eighteen that means I'm officially an adult now."

Nicky winks at her. "I knew something looked different about you."

"It's my makeup." Andie lies. She knows besides her belly she couldn't avoid putting on a little weight in the face. Her cheeks are a little fuller than before she was pregnant. Danielle told her that her nose looks like it's grown too. She wishes right now she was having a baby boy instead of a girl. She heard that baby girls steal the mother's beauty while they're pregnant and baby boys make the mother's look more beautiful while pregnant. She believes it, if she's any example. "And I had my eyebrows waxed." She's stretching, looking for reasons she should look different.

His eyes gravitate to her breast area. Her top has a low neckline, some cleavage is showing. It's more cleavage than she's ever shown before because her breasts have grown bigger in her sixth months of pregnancy. "Did you have a breast implants?" He smirks.

"No!" She scowls.

"I was kidding." He winks at her. "You look good in that shirt."

"Don't even think about getting in my shirt tonight. If that's how you think this night is going to end, you can turn around and take me home now."

He shrugs. "A guy could dream."

"I already told you, I don't want to be a relationship again just yet. When I get back from Europe we can see where things go. Didn't I tell you that already? Just friends until I get home from Europe?"

"Yes, you told me, just friends." Nicky looks ahead and drives. "It's just been a long time since I did the horizontal bop."

"Are you saying you haven't had sex with anyone since we broke up?"

"Nope." Nicky shakes his head. "Have you?"

"Nope." Andie tells him. Nicky sighs in relief.

"How come you haven't had sex?" Andie asks. "You have girls screaming for you when you're up on stage. You'd have no problem getting any of them in your bed."

"Truth?"

"Yes, truth."

"I came close one time but I felt guilty thinking about you and about forcing you to have an abortion. I couldn't go through with it."

Andie nods and smiles. She can't help it. She's happy to hear this.

"And I got to thinking if _you_ went off the pill and got pregnant, any other girl could do it too. And they may not agree to an abortion. I could end up with a kid if I'm not careful who I have sex with."

Andie sighs. "So, you're saying I made you lose faith in women? You don't believe anyone who tells you they're on the pill?"

"I don't want to take a chance after what happened to us."

"Why don't you just use condoms?"

Nicky looks at Andie out of the corner of his eye while driving. "You _want_ me to use condoms to have sex with random chic's?"

"That's not what I'm saying." Andie punches Nicky playfully in the arms while he drives. "It's just that you're you. You love sex and girls throw themselves at you when you're performing. It has to be tempting."

"I believe in fairytale's." Nicky winks at Andie now. "I'm waiting for my princess, Belle, to come back to me."

Andie's heart melts. It's a combination of the wink and what he just said to her. She wants to take him back so bad. But, she can't. She's pregnant and he doesn't know it. She squeezes his thigh anyway. "Your princess will take you back, just not yet." She smiles softly.

"When?" He raises his eyebrows.

"We'll talk about it when I come back from Europe."

"I'm gonna hold you to it." Nicky smiles.

"Can we change the subject now?" Andie asks.

Nicky talks. "Broken Spell is going to be opening for the Jungle Boys on the east coast this summer. So I'll be kept busy while you're in Europe."

"That's great for you and your band." Andie smiles. "You guys will all have a rip together in New York City with all the good bars they have."

"Yeah, except I had to fire Kevin."

"Why?" Andie's surprised.

"Too much drinking and druggin. He's misses practices and is late for shows." Nicky explains. "I can't having him showing up late when we open for the Jungle Boys."

"That sucks." Andie screws up her face. "Was he mad?"

"Not really. Cody and I warned him about it months ago. He's in too deep to do it alone, so he's checking into rehab. I told him he can have his job back after he gets out but it will be after our summer tour with the Jungle Boys."

"So, who's going to play the keyboards over the summer for your band?" Andie asks.

"We had a couple people try out already. There's this one chick that caught on to our music pretty quick. We have a couple guys trying out this week but if they're not any better we'll go with the chick." Nicky explains.

"Then you'll have three guys and two girls in the band."

"Just until Kevin's ready to come back, besides, Jodi's pushing for the chick to get the job." Nicky laughs. "I don't think her boyfriend likes the idea of her traveling with four guys."

"Four good looking guys." Andie adds. "Too bad her boyfriend can't go. I'd love to go if I wasn't going to Europe."

"Jodi's boyfriend can't go. He has a job and his own band here. Would _you_ really go on the road with us if you weren't going to Europe this summer?"

Andie thinks about it. She couldn't go. She'll be in her third trimester then and it's going to be harder to hide. "No." She shakes her head.

Nicky sighs. "Just seeing where I stand in your life." They drive to the restaurant in silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p>Tess and Chase play Yahtzee at the kitchen table and eat leftover birthday cake. Tess rolls the dice and smiles.<p>

"So, can you believe my sister went out to dinner with Nicky tonight?" Chase asks.

"Stop, trying to distract me." Tess counts up the numbers on her dice and matches it with her score card.

"No, I'm serious. Do you think she'll finally tell him she didn't have the abortion?"

Tess shakes her head. "No way. She's not opening her mouth for nothing."

Chase shakes his head back and forth. "That's so wrong. I wish I could shake some sense into her."

Tess sighs. "You can't. Your sister is stubborn. She does what she wants to do."

"I wish I could make her see how wrong she is. It's not fair to Nicky. I would be pissed if I was him when he finally finds out about it and you know he will find out one day."

Tess puts the dice and her score card down to talk to Chase. "Andie's planning on giving the baby up for adoption and never telling him."

Chase slams his palm down on the table. "That's even worse. Can she even do that? Isn't that illegal or something to give it up without telling the father."

"He insisted that she have an abortion." Tess reminds. "So, it should be okay."

"That's just wrong." Chase shakes his head. "That means he'll have a kid living out in the world somewhere and not even know it."

Tess nods. "It's her body, she can do whatever she wants. She can have an abortion, keep it or give it up for adoption. It's her choice."

"That's not fair. I hope you'd never do anything like that to me." Chase tells Tess.

"Of course I wouldn't. I love you."

Chase rebuttles. "Andie says she loves Nicky. How can she lie to him like that?"

Tess shrugs her shoulders. "I think she's doing it out of love for him. He wanted her to have an abortion." Tess explains. "He says he's not ready for a baby and now his band is climbing up the ladder. She doesn't want him to have to worry about a baby or her being pregnant."

Chase shakes his head. "I still don't like it."

"It's her life." Tess picks up the dice and hands it to Chase. "Your turn."

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper sit on the couch watching tv. "So, did she look pregnant to you in that outfit she was wearing today?" Cooper asks.<p>

"I don't know, not really, but I still haven't seen her wear anything tight or clingy."

"She's getting older. She doesn't want to wear the same stuff Marley and Lila wear." Cooper shrugs and pops some popcorn into his mouth.

"I hope you're right, Coop."

"I can't believe she's going to be gone the whole summer." Cooper digs in the bowl for more popcorn. "I'm going to miss her."

"Me too." Charlotte rests her head on Cooper's shoulder to watch the movie.

"We have to let her grow up, Chief. She's eighteen now. She's going to UCLA next semester, life is good." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"I guess." Charlotte sighs.

"What are you thinking?" Cooper asks.

"It still bothers me that she dodged the question when I asked her the other day. If she wasn't pregnant why didn't she just say no?"

Cooper thinks before answering. "You caught her off guard. She was probably shocked you would ask her something like that."

"She went on the defense about me calling her fat right away so I didn't want to push it. We don't want another Lila."

"It was good that you didn't push it."

Charlotte shakes her head. "Her face is changin' before my eyes. Her cheeks are full. She hasn't had chuncky cheeks since she was three years old."

"You didn't say that to her." Cooper screws up his face. "Did you?"

"Of course I didn't." Charlotte defends. "But add that to the fact that she's wearing baggy tops and the only conclusion I can come up with is she's pregnant."

"Or" Cooper suggests. "She really has gained weight since she broke up with Nicky."

"It's not just the weight. She hasn't been acting like herself the past few months either."

"How so?" Cooper asks.

"She's doing everything right. She's not seeing Nicky like you asked. She's been getting perfect grades. She pretty much just stays home reading in her room every night."

"She's out with Nicky tonight." Cooper points out. "She's been on her best behavior because she wants to go on this trip to Europe with Danielle. She doesn't want to do anything to make us cancel her trip."

"I hope you're right."

Cooper holds Charlotte's hand. "She's on the pill and you told her to use condoms as a back up. Plus, I don't think she would spend the summer in Europe if she was pregnant."

Charlotte sighs a heavy sigh now. "Oh God. I don't want to think my baby could be pregnant and so far away from us."

Cooper rubs Charlotte's hand. "Stop worrying so much."

"I can't. My teenage daughter may be pregnant."

Cooper says "Let's not worry about it until we know if she's pregnant. You're probably worrying about nothing."

"I s'pose." Charlotte sighs.


	107. Chapter 107

_**CHAPTER 107**_

* * *

><p>Tess knocks on the door of the Freedman house. Andie answers. "Wow you look great in that shirt." Tess tells Andie. "I can't even tell that you're pregnant."<p>

"That's the idea." Andie smiles and lets Tess in. "Chase! Tess is here!" Andie yells up the stairs.

"So, are you excited to go to Europe?" Tess asks.

"Very! I can't wait to get out of here so I don't have to worry everyday about people figuring out I'm pregnant."

"Did you ever meet with the adoption counselor?"

"I had to cancel. I've been so busy with graduation, the prom, my birthday and packing for Europe."

"You're not changing your mind about giving the baby up for adoption? Are you?" Tess asks.

"No way!" Andie exclaims. "I've got big plans for my future."

"Does that include Nicky?" Tess smiles.

"Yeees." Andie smiles back. "I can't wait to see him when I come back from Europe."

"But you'll be almost eight months pregnant then. It's going to be even harder to hide."

"I'll figure it out." Andie tells Tess. "Maybe I'll wait until after the baby's born to see Nicky so he doesn't suspect anything."

"What about your parents?" Tess asks.

"I'll try to find some clothes in Europe that will hide my belly."

Chase comes down the stairs. He kisses Tess hello. "You ready to go?" He asks.

"I am." Tess tells him before they walk out the door. Noah and Marley walk in with Drew.

"Hey, Andie." Marley says. "I like your top."

"Thanks." Andie tells her before leaving the room and walking into the kitchen.

"My sister is definitely pregnant." Noah casually mentions to Marley.

Marley almost chokes on the candy bar she's eating.

"You okay?" Noah pats Marley on then back.

"Yes." Marley asks. "Did your sister tell you she's preggers?"

"No, but did you check out that top she has on?"

"I like the top she's wearing." Marley tells Noah.

"Yeah, but did you see how it has a big knot and sash in the front, like she's trying to hide her stomach. Why would she wear something like that unless she was trying to hide something? My sister used to flaunt her flat stomach with belly shirts, now she's trying to cover it up? She's preggers." Noah takes a bite out of Marley's candy bar.

"Maybe." Marley agrees.

Noah swallows down the candy bar and tells her. "I suspected my sister was pregnant at her graduation party but that shirt confirms it for me."

"Let's go in the kitchen so I can check it out." Marley pulls Noah into the kitchen.

"What are you two doing?" Andie bites into an apple.

"Just looking for a snack." Noah opens up the refrigerator while Marley checks out Andie's belly. Noah grabs some cheese sticks and they walk back into the living room.

"Oh yeaaaah!" Marley tells Noah. "She's trying to hide something under that shirt."

"When do you think she's going to come out and tell us?" Noah asks.

"I have no idea. She's your sister."

"My parents are going to flip." Noah opens the wrapper of his cheese stick.

"Who do you think the father is?" Marley asks.

"The only dudes she hangs with are Nicky and Tyler."

"Cool! If Tyler is the father the baby would be my niece or nephew too." Marley tells Noah. "But my mother will flip out if my brother made her a grandma at her age. My mom's forty-five."

"I think it's more likely that Nicky's the father." Noah suggests.

"But wouldn't the baby be all freaky cuz of the cousin thing?"

"I don't know." Noah worries."Let's look it up." Noah gets his out iPad to do the search. After a few minutes of searching Noah tells Marley, "in most cases the baby should be normal unless Andie and Nicky both carry the same gene for a disease."

"Let's hope they don't." Marley crosses her fingers for the baby. Andie walks in the living room. Noah shuts off his iPad.

"What are you two up to now?" Andie asks.

"Nothing." Marley and Noah both answer at the same time. They stare at the knot on her shirt.

"Why are you staring at me?" Andie asks.

Noah shrugs. "We're not."

"Yes,you are. Stop it!" Andie tells them as she walks upstairs to pack for her trip to Europe. She figures they both suspect. She hopes they don't say anything to her parents before she leaves for her trip.

* * *

><p>Charlotte's having a cup of coffee in the break room at work. Amelia walks in. "How's Andie doing?" Amelia asks.<p>

"What do you know?" Charlotte puts her coffee cup down.

"What do you mean?" Amelia looks at Charlotte.

"You didn't ask me about Chase or Noah or Drew. You always just ask me about Andie. Why?"

Amelia stares at Charlotte, frozen. She was sure Andie would have told her parents by now.

"Is Andie pregnant?" Charlotte flat out asks.

"Why are you asking me? Why don't you ask your daughter?"

"I did." Charlotte answers. "She conveniently dodged the question... accused me of calling her fat... gave me some excuses why she's gaining weight."

Amelia's eyes are open wide. She stares at Charlotte like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You know somethin'." Charlotte asserts. "It's written all over your face. Andie's pregnant and you know it, don't you?"

"If I know it's only because I treated her for a seizure that night she came into the ER last winter."

"That was months ago." Charlotte gasps at Amelia. "She's my child, Amelia. How could you not say anything to me all these months?"

"You are aware of the Supreme Court law and the 14th amendment that extends the right of privacy in these matters to minors? Minors have access to confidential services regarding contraception, pregnancy and even abortion."

"I'm aware of the law." Charlotte glares disapprovingly at Amelia.

"You don't approve of it?" Amelia asks.

"Never mind the law. You're supposed to be my friend, Amelia. How could you keep something like this from me?" Charlotte's voice is a cross between hurt and anger.

"Andie was my patient. I had a duty to protect her rights."

Charlotte shakes her head as tears begin to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte. I really am."

"Hypothetically speaking." Charlotte asks. "If you did find out she was pregnant when she came into the ER what would you have told her to do?"

"I would have told her to tell her parents when Drew was better. Drew was sick with Guillain-Barre at the time."

"Did you say anything else? Hypothetically speaking?" Charlotte adds.

"Hypotetically speaking." Amelia goes on. "I would have done an ultrasound to check if the baby was okay from the seizure and gave her a prescription for prenatal vitamins."

Charlotte's asks. "Was the baby okay?"

"The ultraound was normal for an early pregnancy." Amelia clears her throat. "Hypothetically speaking." She reminds Charlotte.

"Did she say if she was planning to keep the baby?" Charlotte adds. "Hypothetically?"

"I gave her the name and number of the free parenting center near the hospital. I told her to go there for a check up and discuss her options."

Charlotte sighs. "I wish she would have come to me."

"I'm sorry, Charlotte. I thought she already told you."

"Thank you for telling me now, hypothetically." Charlotte nods.

Amelia nods before leaving the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Charlotte joins Cooper in the bedroom. Cooper's reading. He looks up. "What's wrong? You have that look on your face again."<p>

"Now I really wish we did take that midnight train to Georgia or Alabama or anywhere but here."

"Why?" Cooper puts his Kindle down on the bed.

"Then Andie wouldn't have met Nicky Poulos."

"You got me there." Cooper snickers. "What did Nicky do now?"

Charlotte sighs and sits down next to Cooper on the bed. "He got Andie pregnant. Turns out Andie is pregnant after all."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No. Amelia did. Hypothetically."

"How would Amelia know?"

"She treated her at the hospital when she had the seizure. Remember back when Drew had the Guillain-Barre?"

"Of course I remember." Cooper's eyes are wide.

"She was already pregnant when she had the seizure. Amelia's known since then."

"Amelia's known all this time and didn't tell us?" Cooper asks.

"She couldn't tell us. She was Andie's doctor at the time. She told Andie to tell us. Andie told Amelia she would tell us when Drew was better."

"But, she never did." Cooper shakes his head, clearly annoyed.

"The kid's scared." Charlotte shrugs.

"How could this happen?" Cooper's voice is filled with frustration. He stands up now and paces across the room while ranting. "You're a sexologist! You give seminars on practicing safe sex at high schools, colleges and old age homes. How the hell does the daughter of a sexologist end up pregnant while she's still in high school?"

Charlotte jumps up off the bed now too. "You can't possibly blame me for this!" Charlotte holds her arms defensively against her chest. "When all else fails, blame the mother. Is that it, Cooper?"

Cooper calms down a tad bit. "I'm not blaming you, Charlotte." He starts to raise his voice again. "I'm blaming...her! Our daughter! She was given all the information. You even gave her a prescription for the pill. What more could we have done besides chain her up in her room?"

Charlotte unfolds her arms now. "And I stressed the importance of using condoms as a back up for STD's."

"Then why is she pregnant? Why is _our_ daughter pregnant?" He pleads.

"You can lead a horse to water, Coop, but you can't make it drink."

"But, why wouldn't she drink it?" Cooper raises his hands in the air. "Why? Please tell me why!" He begs Charlotte. "Because for the life of me, Charlotte, I don't get it!" He raises his voice again.

"I don't know why, Coop. Maybe she forgot to take her pill a day or two, it happens." Charlotte tries to think of what went wrong.

"But it wouldn't have happened if she listened to you and used condoms as a back up." Cooper points out.

"She's a teenager, Coop. Teenagers think they're invincible. They think those kind of things only happen to other people, not them."

Cooper sits back on the bed. "Unless." He points his finger in the air.

"Unless what?" Charlotte sits down next to him.

"Unless she did it on purpose. You know like those teen mom's on tv." Cooper suggests. "They think having a baby would be a fun thing to do. They think they're like little puppies."

"Andie's smarter than that. She wouldn't do it on purpose." Charlotte defends her daughter. "She wouldn't try so hard to hide it then."

"Who do you think the father is?" Cooper asks Charlotte.

"Nicky."

"They broke up months ago." Cooper points out.

"Andie's was already pregnant months ago when she had the seizure." Charlotte tells him.

Cooper shakes his finger in the air. "There are a lot of things I don't like about Nicky." Cooper suggests. "But he's not the type to shirk his responsibities. I can't see him dumping Andie because she was pregnant with his baby."

Charlotte furrows her brow. "You think they broke up because she's pregnant with someone else's baby?"

"Could be." Cooper shrugs. "We know Andie's not happy about the break up."

"But that means she would have cheated on Nicky. I can't see Andie doing that."

"I don't know." Cooper insists. "I don't know anything because our daughter doesn't talk to us." Cooper's voice is getting agitated again. He rises back up to his feet and bangs his fist against the wall.

"Calm down, Cooper." Charlotte warns. "This isn't helping anything."

"What should we say to her? She already denied she was pregnant to you!" Cooper turns around to look at Charlotte. "I'm going in there to talk to her and straighten this out now! How long does she think she can hide it from us? What is she planning to do? Hide the baby under her bed after it's born?" Cooper's face is red with anger.

"Calm down, Cooper."

"Don't tell me to calm down! My teenage daughter is pregnant! " Cooper runs his hand over his head.

"Yeah, mine too." Charlotte folds her arms against her chest.

"How can you be so calm about this?" He asks.

"One of us has to be. Our daughter is scared to death right now. She's afraid to tell us. Ganging up on her isn't going to work."

"Well, I'm going to talk to her right now. You can stay here." He says.

"No Cooper. You're not talking to her about this yet." Charlotte warns." Emotions are running high. If you confront her now it's going to turn out badly, you'll regret it." Charlotte looks at Cooper's hands balled up into fists.

Cooper refrains from punching the wall again. "So, what do we do? Just sit around and play dumb, like we don't know she's pregnant?"

"We'll wait to talk to her until everyone's emotions are in check and we can have a calm, civil conversation with her about it."

"When's that gonna be?" Cooper wrinkles his nose.

"As long as it takes. I don't want to have a heated confrontation with her, Cooper. She's eighteen now. She could end up leavin' the house and movin' in with Nicky or going who knows where." Charlotte warns. "Is that what you want, Coop?"

Cooper shakes his head. "Of course not."

"Then don't go in to her yet."

"Okay." Cooper sighs. "I won't say anything."

"Promise?" Charlotte takes his hand.

"Promise." Cooper twists pinky's with Charlotte, earning himself a chuckle. Cooper sits back on the bed. "Is she at least getting any prenatal care?"

"Amelia gave her prenatal vitamins and referred her to the parenting clinic by the hospital."

"That's good." Cooper sighs. "What do we do now?"

"We wait. Hopefully, she'll come to us. She's getting medical care and she has time."

"We're going to have to cancel her trip to Europe this summer." Cooper says.

"I've been thinking about that ever since Amelia told me Andie was pregnant this afternoon."

"And?"

"I think it would be good for her to go to Europe. Let her see the world before she has a kid."

Cooper scoffs. "At least we'll know she won't be with Nicky for the summer."

"The damage is already done, Coop."

"I'll punch Nicky right between the eyes if I find out he's the one who knocked our daughter up. That arrogant bastard!" Cooper balls his hand up into a fist again.

"We don't know if he's the father. Just calm down before you start accusing anyone, Coop. "

"He's the one who coerced her into wanting to have sex. Nicky stole her innocence!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Coop. Andie doesn't crumble under pressure. She doesn't do anything _she_ doesn't want to do. He didn't steal anything from her."

"I'm still going to punch him right between the eyes the next time I see him."

"You better not or I'll punch you." Charlotte warns.

Cooper clenches his fist tight.

"Calm down, Coop!" Charlotte insists.

"I can't."

"I'd suggest we go to the shooting range but they're already closed."

"You wanna have angry sex?" Cooper asks.

Charlotte shakes her head no. "Sex will just make me think of how our baby girl ended up getting pregnant."

"So, we're never having sex again?" Cooper screws up his face.

"Shut up, you big goof." Charlotte punches Cooper playfully on the arm. "We'll have sex again but I can't stop thinking about my baby having a baby, tonight. It's not conducive to sex."

"So, what _do_ we do? We're not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"Eat popcorn and watch old movies in bed. What else?" Charlotte raises her eyebrows, "_and_ if the mood strikes ...well then."

"I'll go pop the corn. You pick the movie." Cooper gets up. He turns around to tell her, "pick out anything but '_Knocked up'_ or_ Juno'."_

_"_Got it." Charlotte chuckles.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN- To all my reviewers- Y'all are THE BEST! =) I love reading the feedback. Your reviews and pm's inspire me to keep writing this story. Just wanted to say thanks! =)**_


	108. Chapter 108

_**CHAPTER 108**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper walk in the entrance of the parent planning clinic near the hospital. Charlotte approaches the desk. "I'm Dr. King. I called earlier and asked to meet with the doctor in charge."<p>

"That would be Dr. Taylor." The receptionist answers. "She's with a patient now. Have a seat."

Charlotte looks around the waiting room. It's full people much younger than herself. "How long will it be?" Charlotte asks.

"Not long. You're next." The receptionist answers. Charlotte and Cooper find a seat in the corner.

Cooper chuckles. "We look like a horny geriatric couple here."

Charlotte looks over at Cooper."Read your magazine and stop drawing attention to us." A second later Charlotte says, "Look Cooper." She gestures to Tess who just walked in the front door.

"Tess!" Cooper calls out and waves her over. Charlotte nudges his arm.

"What'd you do that for?" Charlotte asks Cooper. "Now Tess is walking over here."

"Hi Dr. Freedman. Hi Dr. King." Tess greets them. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Cooper answers her question with his own question so he doesn't have to explain why they're really there.

"I volunteer here." Tess opens her sweater to reveal her ID tag. "I want to be a doctor who delivers babies. This is good experience."

"How nice?" Charlotte smiles. "You want to be an OB-Gyn?"

"Yep."

Cooper asks. "Does Andie know you volunteer here?"

"Andie and Chase both know I volunteer here." Tess tells them.

"Have you ever seen Andie here?" Cooper asks.

Tess hesitates. "If I did and I'm not saying I did, I don't think I could tell you that. I'm not saying she's a patient but if she was I could get in trouble for talking about patients." Tess fumbles with her words.

"You're off the hook, kid." Charlotte tells her. "We know Andie's pregnant. That's why we're here."

"Did Andie tell you?" Tess asks.

"No. Andie doesn't know we're onto her. Please don't tell her we know." Charlotte tells Tess.

"Isn't Andie supposed to leave for Europe soon with Danielle?" Tess asks.

"That's why we're here. We want to talk to her doctor before we send her off." Charlotte explains.

"Dr. King. You're next." A volunteer calls to Charlotte. Charlotte and Cooper get up and follow the volunteer into Dr. Taylor's office.

"Dr. King, It's nice to see you again." Dr. Taylor shakes Charlotte's hand. She's familiar with Charlotte as Chief of Staff of St. Ambrose.

Charlotte shakes the doctor's hand. "This is my husband Dr. Cooper Freedman."

Dr. Taylor shakes Cooper's hand. "Nice to meet you." The doctor takes a seat at her desk. "What can I do for the two of you?"

"We're here looking for information about a patient, Alexandria Freedman. We were told she's a patient at your clinic?"

"Yes." Dr. Taylor nods. "Andie or Alexandria is one of my patients. Sweet girl."

"Can you tell us how far along she is?" Charlotte asks. Cooper twists his hands together while waiting for the information.

"May I ask why you need this information?"

Charlotte sighs. "Andie is our daughter."

"Oh, I see." Dr Taylor is clearly surprised. "I had no idea I was treating the daughter of the Chief of Staff at St. Ambrose."

"I kept my maiden name. Andie goes by her father's last name-Freedman."

Cooper gives the doctor a nervous smile.

"Why can't you ask Andie how far along she is?" Dr Taylor leans back in her chair.

Charlotte answers. "Andie doesn't want us to know she's pregnant. We found out from a friend."

The doctor looks Charlotte in the eye. "As Chief of Staff, you're aware of the Title X law amended in 1983 to include and protect the confidentiality of minors seeking treatment as clinics such as this one."

"Yes, I'm aware." Charlotte nods.

"I'm required to follow the confidentiality law as it pertains to minors." Dr. Taylor looks at both Charlotte and Cooper when she speaks.

Charlotte responds. "I'm asking you to tell me if my daughter is doing okay with this pregnancy as a professional courtesy. She wants to travel to Europe and we're concerned that she's pregnant and will be so far away from us."

Dr. Taylor sighs. "I symapthize with you, Dr. King. I'm a parent myself." Dr. Taylor taps her finger on her desk. "I can't give you any details but I will tell you that Andie is doing very well. Everything has been running smooth or else I wouldn't have approved of her trip to Europe."

"So, you know about her spending the summer in Europe?" Charlotte asks.

"Yes, she told me she was going. I gave her enough prenatal vitamins to get her through the summer. I advised her to find out where the closest hospital is to her hotel in case a problem should arise but I don't expect that to happen. It's been an uncomplicated pregnancy."

Cooper clears his throat and asks. "Did Andie tell you if she was planning to keep the baby?"

The doctor tells them. "Andie made an appointment with our social worker to discuss adoption. She never showed up for her appointment."

"Sorry about that." Cooper sighs.

"Happens all the time at this place." The doctor tells Cooper. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Can you tell us her due date?" Charlotte asks.

"I can't give you details concerning a specific patient but I will tell you that I wouldn't let _any_ patient of mine fly if they were in their ninth month. So when Andie comes back from Europe in August it's safe for you to assume she'll be close to eight months." The doctor hints.

"Wow." Cooper nods. Charlotte clenches her jaw tight.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Dr. Taylor asks them.

"No, we just needed to know she was under a competent doctor's care and she's okay to go on this trip." Cooper rises to his feet.

"She's doing amazingly well. " The doctor shakes Cooper's hand. "You would hardly know she's pregnant. Andie's been a real trooper."

Charlotte shakes hands with Dr. Taylor. "Thank you." Charlotte and Cooper walk out of the office together.

"So, what do you think?" Cooper looks at Charlotte.

"I'm relieved she's doing okay. I'm impressed she talked to Dr. Taylor first about going to Europe. It means she's thinking about things and not just walkin' through this pregnancy with blinders on."

Cooper screws up his nose. "If she'll be eight months when she comes home in August that means she's about six months now. You still think we should let her go?"

"We don't have a choice, Cooper." Charlotte points out. "Andie's eighteen now and Dr. Taylor cleared her for the trip. There's not anything we could do."

"Should we let her know that we know before she leaves?" Cooper asks.

"It wouldn't make sense to bring it up this close to her leavin' in case it doesn't go well. I don't want her to leave for Europe if she's mad at either of us."

Cooper nods as he walks with Charlotte.

"We'll discuss it with her when she comes home. She'll be eight months. It'll be too hard to hide anymore. She'll have to tell us."

Cooper chuckles now. "She better tell us before the baby pops out and tells us itself."

"Stop joking, Cooper. This is serious. What are we going to do with another baby in the house?"

"You heard Dr. Taylor, Char, she said Andie was planning to give the baby up for adoption." Cooper raises his eyebrows. "And _I_ think that's the best thing for everyone in this situation."

"Did you also hear Dr. Taylor say Andie never showed up for her appointment with the adoption counselor? I wouldn't be so sure she's planning on giving the baby up."

"What do you think she's planning to do then?" Cooper rubs his head.

Charlotte shakes her head. "I don't know but the fact that she was a no show for the appointment makes it sound like she's unsure and wavering."

"It'll be okay, Chief." Cooper tweaks Charlotte's nose. "We'll sit down and talk to her about her options when she comes home from Europe. We'll get her through it."

"Okay." Charlotte nods, taking Cooper's hand in hers as they walk to their car.

* * *

><p>Andie sits at the dinner table with the family.<p>

"I hope you bring me home lots of souvenirs." Drew tells his big sister.

"I will, Drew." Andie answers, quietly.

"Aren't you excited about your trip, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte asks. "You're awfully quiet tonight."

"I'm just thinking about...-" Andie feels the baby move. This isn't a kick. It feels like the whole baby just did a tumble in her belly. She instinctively puts her hand on her belly.

"Thinking about what?" Cooper asks, noticing the placement of her hand on her belly.

"Uhm... uhm, just thinking about all the stuff I still have to get done before I leave."

"Does your tummy hurt?" Drew asks.

"No, why?" Andie looks at her little brother.

"Cuz you're holding it like it hurts."

"It doesn't hurt. I'm just full." Andie gets up and puts her plate in the sink. She leaves the kitchen.

"She's been acting weird." Noah comments.

"What do you think, Chase?" Charlotte asks. "Has Andie been acting weird?"

"I don't know." Chase shrugs and eats his spaghetti.

"Who wants to make a bet with me that she's pregnant?" Noah asks. "Fifty dollars says she's preggers."

Charlotte and Cooper don't answer.

"What does preggers mean?" Drew asks.

"It means she has a baby in her tummy." Noah tells him.

"How did it get there?" Drew asks.

"Nicky probably put it there." Noah chuckles to himself.

Drew scrunches up his face. "How did Nicky put a baby in her tummy. I don't get it."

"It's not _my_ job to explain that to you." Noah looks at Charlotte and Cooper who are eating their dinner in silence.

"How, momma?" Drew asks.

"Thanks, Noah." Charlotte glares at her middle son. "I wasn't plannin' on discussin' the birds and the bees with him yet."

"I don't want to talk about birds and bees. I want to talk about where babies come from." Drew tells Charlotte.

Cooper picks Drew up. "How about a bubble bath and then a story before bed?" Cooper tells Charlotte as he carries Drew out of the room. "I'll talk to him."

"He's six, Cooper!" Charlotte calls out. "Make it age appropriate!"

"I'm a pediatrician, Chief. I know how to talk to six year olds." Cooper yells back.

"Maybe dad should give Andie '_the talk_' when he's done with Drew." Noah laughs at his own joke.

"I gave her '_the talk_' a long time ago." Charlotte tells Noah. "I gave her the pill. I told her to use condoms. What else could I do?"

"You could have told her _not_ to have sex yet like you told me and Marley." Noah sarcastically suggests. "I believe the word is abstinance."

"And would that have worked? Do you think she would have listened to that?" Charlotte looks at Noah and Chase.

"Don't look at me. I'm not having sex yet." Noah tells Charlotte. "Marley and I listened to you."

"Keep it that way." Charlotte gets up to clear the table and grumbles. "Maybe it doesn't make a difference what I say anyway, obviously, y'all have your own minds. You're gonna do what you're gonna do. It doesn't matter what I say."

"I listen to you, momma." Chase looks up.

"Thank you."

"Hey, I listen to you too." Noah calls out. "I already told you I'm not having sex."

"You're fifteen. You damn well better not be!" Charlotte slams the dishes into the sink, breaking one. She walks briskly out of the kitchen.

"Why is she mad at me?" Noah asks Chase. "I didn't do anything. I'm the only one that's _not _having sex in this house, besides Drew."

"She's not mad at you. She's mad at herself." Chase explains.

"Why?"

"Because she did everything right and Andie got pregnant anyway. Momma's a sexologist. It's her job to teach teens safe sex. She goes to high schools and middle schools preaching about safe sex. How does it look if her own teenage daughter gets knocked up?"

"I didn't think about that." Noah answers. "Andie's a jerk for doing that to momma."

"Andie's going through a tough time, Noah, cut her some slack. This hasn't been easy for her." Chase explains. "She's trying to hide it from everybody for that reason. She doesn't want to hurt momma."

"What happens when the baby's born? How is she going to hide it then?"

"I think she plans to put it up for adoption and never tell momma or dad she was pregnant."

"Good luck with that." Noah chuckles. "Since they know already."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part Two- Time Jump<strong>_

**Six weeks later:**

Charlotte and Cooper wait alongside Addison at LAX for Andie and Danielle to arrive at their gate. Lucas and Tyler came home last month as planned while Andie and Danielle took two more weeks to tour Italy.

Addison talks to Charlotte and Cooper while she waits. "I'm so excited to see Danielle again. She said they had the best time in Europe."

"The party's over." Cooper nods. "They'll be going back to school next week. Andie's going to start her freshman year at UCLA and Danielle's heading back to Yale."

"I know." Addison nods. "I'm going to spend every second I can with Danielle before she goes back to Yale."

They announce over the speaker that Andie and Danielle's flight has landed. Addison, Charlotte and Cooper all wait anxiously. After a few minutes they spot them.

"Here they come!" Addison points. Both girls are wearing over sized sweatshirts with sweatpants. Addison hugs Danielle right away. Cooper hugs Andie. "You look great, Andie Candy." He tells his eighteen year old daughter. "How was the flight?"

"Good." Andie hugs Cooper tight, extra tight Cooper thinks and it makes his heart melt for his daughter. He knows keeping this secret must be taking a toll on her.

Charlotte hugs Andie next. "I missed you, Sweet Pea. Welcome home."

Andie gives Charlotte a tight hug. "I missed you too, momma."

"Aren't you girls warm in those sweat suits?" Addison asks. "It's August."

"The plane was freezing, mom. You know they always pump up the air conditioning." Danielle answers. "We wore these outfits to stay warm and cozy on the plane." Danielle looks at Andie.

"Yep." Andie agrees.

"How was Europe?" Charlotte asks them.

"It was amazing." Danielle answers. "We did a lot of shopping and eating and touring."

"Mostly eating." Andie nods. "They have the best deserts in Italy. I ended up putting on a little extra weight." Andie pats her belly. Charlotte exchanges a look with Cooper. Andie is apparently going to keep up the charade a bit longer.

"Well, let's go find your luggage." Addison suggests. The group makes their way over to the baggage claim.

While Danielle and Andie talk, Addison asks Charlotte and Cooper on the sly. "When were you going to tell me Andie was pregnant?"

Cooper raises his eyebrows and twists his mouth. "After Andie tells us."

"You mean she hasn't said anything?" Addison looks at them in disbelief.

Charlotte answers. "Obviously, your daughter knows. That's why they're wearing the sweat shirts. They think they're hiding it from us."

Addison looks over at Andie. "She looks like she swallowed a watermelon. Does she think we can't see that?"

"Apparently." Charlotte shakes her head in disapproval.

"Bring her into my office tomorrow. She'll need a full exam. I'll do a sonogram to see how far along she is." Addison tells them.

"She already has an OB-Gyn. She gave her the okay to go on this trip and she's about eight months." Charlotte tells Addison.

"How do you know all that if Andie hasn't told you she's pregnant?" Addison watches Andie and Danielle while she talks.

"We met with her doctor." Charlotte answers." Andie doesn't know about that meeting."

"Who's her doctor?"

Charlotte answers. "Dr. Taylor over at the free clinic by the hospital."

Addison nods. "She's good. I know her. Andie's in good hands."

"I know her too." Charlotte tells Addison. "She's delivers at St. Ambrose and St. Catherines."

"Wanna bet Andie's planning on having the baby at St. Catherines." Cooper tells them.

Addison looks on the luggage belt for Danielle's suitcase to come around. "At least she has a doctor and a plan. I've taken care of newborns whose mothers hid the pregnancy and abandoned them."

"I'll never understand how a mother could do that to a newborn." Cooper shakes his head.

"These girls are scared and sometimes in denial." Addison tells him. "They deny that they're pregnant, ignore the symptoms, until they go into labor and then they abandon the baby."

Cooper shakes his head as he watches the luggage go around on the belt.

Addison continues. "But someone always knows or suspects and nine times out of ten they find the mother."

"I don't know why Andie would be so afraid to come to us." Charlotte tells Addison. "Andie knows we love her."

"She doesn't want to upset you." Addison tells Charlotte. "She's afraid to disappoint you."

"But there comes a point...-" Charlotte sighs. "That she has to deal with it and tell us."

"I think that time is coming soon." Addison grabs Danielle's garment bag off the belt. "Let her come to you. You know she's seeing Dr. Taylor and getting the care she needs. Let the rest happen on Andie's terms."

Andie and Danielle talk on an airport bench while they wait for their luggage. "Thanks for wearing the sweat suit and covering for me." Andie tells Danielle.

"That's what Bff's are for." Danielle hugs Andie.

"Do you think they suspect?"Andie asks.

"Maybe but just stick to your story that you ate a lot of rich European food. You should be okay if you wear the tops that we bought in Italy."

"Thanks, Danielle. You're the best." Andie hugs Danielle.

"Our luggage is here." Danielle watches Cooper pull their suitcases off the belt. "Call me when you get home." Danielle gives Andie a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye.

Cooper and Charlotte drive Andie home. Cooper starts the conversation. "Your momma and I want to hear all about your trip. Don't leave out any details."

Andie chuckles. "I talked to you guys almost every night on the phone. I told you everything already."

"What was your favorite place?" Charlotte asks.

"I can't decide between Paris or Rome. Danielle and I made sure we sampled all the food and pastries. The Gelato in Italy was unbelievable. I had at least one bowl of it every night we were there."

Cooper and Charlotte exchange glances.

"I put on some weight but I don't care. I'll start working it off in a month." Andie tells them. "I'll be skinny again."

"Why in a month?" Cooper quizzes her now. "You could start to lose the weight now. Why would you wait a month?"

"Cooper!" Charlotte smacks him on the arm.

"You look great, Andie." Charlotte turns to look at her.

"Thanks, momma. I know I put on a lot of weight. I'm okay with it."

"Well, then good," is all Charlotte can think to say.

They pull in the driveway. Cooper opens the car door for Andie and gives her a hand to help her out of the car. "Thanks, daddy. I'm just tired. I can normally spring up out of the seat myself."

"No problem." Cooper tries not to look at the watermelon sized bump hidden under Andie's sweatshirt.

Cooper carries Andie's luggage up to her room. "Goodnight, Andy Candy." He tells her.

"Good night, daddy. I'm tired from the long flight. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"I'm counting on it." Cooper shuts Andie's bedroom door. He joins Charlotte in their bedroom. "Well, at least we know the baby will be healthy." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"How can you tell that?"

"Did you get a look at her belly? That's going to be a big baby." Cooper sits on the bed and removes his shoes.

"Andie's petite and she's eight months." Charlotte sits down next to Cooper. "And Nicky's tall like you...-" Charlotte shrugs. "Maybe she'll have a big boy?"

"Oh my God!" Cooper's eyes pop open wide. "What if she's having twins?"

"Dr. Taylor didn't mention that." Charlotte tells him.

"She couldn't give us any details." Cooper rubs his head.

"Dr. Taylor wouldn't have let Andie fly home from Europe at eight months pregnant if Andie was having twins."

"Okay." Cooper nods in agreement. "It's just a big baby."

"Or Andie's just petite and trying to hide the pregnancy which she's not doing a good job of so she looks big to us." Charlotte shakes her head.

"So, what's the plan?" Cooper asks Charlotte before he hops into bed.

"What plan?" Charlotte puts her pj's on.

"When are we going to confront her?" Cooper continues to speak. "It's obvious to everyone that Andie's pregnant now. Addison could tell."

"Addison's an OB-GYN." Charlotte reminds him.

"Oh come on, Chief, she looks like she swallowed a huge watermelon. Who does she think she's fooling?" Cooper pulls up the blanket. "Should we confront her together or do you want to talk to her mother to daughter?"

"She just came home from Europe, Coop. Let's give her some time before we confront her. I'm hoping she'll come to us first." Charlotte suggests.

"She's _not_ going to come to us." Cooper scoffs. "Didn't you hear her saying she gained weight from all the rich food she ate? She's still trying to hide it."

"Let her get settled back in her routine before we confront her. She's starting classes at UCLA next week. Let's give her a break."

"Really?" Cooper scrunches up his face.

"Really." Charlotte nods. "Don't get on her case about it. What's done is done. I'm just happy she's home safe and we can keep an eye on her now."

"I can't believe how calm you are about this." Cooper stares at Charlotte.

"If we confront her and it doesn't go well it's just as good as chasing her back into Nicky's arms." Charlotte stresses. "Do you want her to move into the cottage with Nicky?"

"NO!" Cooper exclaims.

"Then let her come to us. Don't confront her." Charlotte warns.

"We have another month before we're grandparents." Cooper looks up at the ceiling. "Goodnight, grandma."

Charlotte smacks his arm. "If you call me grandma again, I'll crush your kneecaps."

"Ouuuch!" Cooper grimces at the thought. "Why do you have to be so mean?" Cooper whispers quietly to himself, "_grandma." _Before he lets out a little cackle.

"_I'm_ sorry." Charlotte apologizes. "This is such a mess. I've talked to her about birth control, condoms. What was she thinking?"

"She wasn't. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make her drink it." Cooper grins. "A wise woman once told me that."

"If I'm such a wise woman, why is my teenage daughter pregnant?" Charlotte looks up at the ceiling.

"Don't blame yourself, Chief, you gave Andie the talk. It was up to her to listen."

"Do you think she'll keep the baby or give it up for adoption?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"No way of knowing that until she actually comes to us and tells us she's pregnant." Cooper responds.

"What would you want her to do?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"I was adopted, I'd be okay with that but it's her decision. We shouldn't try to sway her or she'll blame us one day if she regrets the decision."

"You're right." Charlotte snuggles up in Cooper's arms.

"You okay?" Cooper asks.

Charlotte talks soflty as she rests her head on Cooper's chest. "I _want_ her to come to us, Coop. Why won't she come to us?"

Cooper hugs Charlotte tight. "I don't know." Cooper sighs and holds Charlotte in his arms. "Would you go to your momma if you were you were in Andie's shoes?"

"No." Charlotte rubs her face against Cooper's chest. "But I tried my damndest not to have the kind of relationship with Andie that I had with my momma as a teen. I really tried, Cooper. I tried to be open and affectionate with her."

"And you are. You're an awesome momma." Cooper rubs Charlotte's back.

"Then why won't she talk to me?"

"It's her, not you." Cooper reassures Charlotte. "She hasn't come to me either and we all know, I'm the easiest person in the world to talk to." Cooper earns himself a chuckle.

"Why is she so stubborn?" Charlotte sighs heavily on Cooper's chest.

"She's ashamed." Cooper suggests. "She's afraid to disappoint us. She's afraid of how we'll react."

"We shouldn't react when she does come to us and tells us. We need to be calm and supportive."

"That's _if _she ever decides to tell us. I keep thinking about those teenage girls who give birth in a public toilet or abandon their babies outside a church." Cooper rubs Charlotte's back.

"That's not gonna happen." Charlotte's voice is firm.

"We don't know what's going on in Andie's mind."

"You heard Addison, those girls who do that hide their pregnancy from everyone. Andie has a doctor. She's going for prenantal care. She's told people she's pregnant. She told Tess and Chase. She told Amelia. I'm sure Danielle, Tyler and Lucas know. She can't abandon the baby. They'll all know it was her."

"So, we're the only ones she's hiding it from?" Cooper rubs his head.

"Looks that way."

Cooper runs his hand across his face.

"Let her get settled home from her trip and start her classes at UCLA next week." Charlotte suggests. "If she doesn't come to us by the end of next week we'll approach her but gently and supportive. You understand, Coop?"

"Gently and supportive." Cooper agrees.

"No askin' questions like how could you let this happen? No raisin' your voice or punching walls, you understand?"

"Got it." Cooper nods.

"Now let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted." Charlotte nuzzles her head in Cooper's chest.

"Goodnight, grandma."

Charlotte slaps his chest quick before she closes her eyes.

_**REVIEW!**_


	109. Chapter 109

_**CHAPTER 109**_

* * *

><p>It's Andie's first day of classes at UCLA. She meets Tyler for lunch at the food court. "How's your first day as a college student going?" Tyler asks.<p>

"Horrible." Andie grimaces as she sits down. "I hate it."

"Why?" Tyler bites into his burger. He looks at Andie. Her face is bright red. She's sweaty and looks exhausted.

Andie twists off the cap of her bottled water. "I've been running across campus from building to building all day on swollen ankles. They screwed up one of my classes and I'm hot." She brushes back a sweaty stand of her long red hair.

"Why are you wearing a hooded sweat shirt?" Tyler asks. "It's 83 degrees out. No wonder you're hot and sweating."

"I have to wear this..." Andie tugs on the bulky sweat shirt, "to hide my protruding belly and skinny arms. If I wear this bulky sweat shirt people will just think I'm fat. If I wear a short sleeve shirt they'll see my skinny arms and fat belly and know I'm pregnant."

"That's gotta suck." Tyler bites his sandwich.

"It sucks being pregnant." Andie chugs down her bottle of cold water.

"You've hung in this long. You only have one more month to go."

"Three and a half more weeks of misery and then I'll be done." Andie drinks more water.

"Are you still planning on giving it up?" Tyler asks.

"Hell yeah!" Andie pushes back her long sweaty bangs. "I'm meeting with the adoption counselor at the free clinic tomorrow. They want to evaluate me to make sure I don't change my mind."

"Any chance you might change your mind when you see her face?" Tyler asks. "What if she looks just like Nicky?"

"I'm not going to look at her face or hold her, this way there's no chance I'll feel any attachment to her." Andie reaches for Tyler's water and takes it off his tray.

"What about Nicky?" Tyelr watches Andie drink his water. "You're just going to give his baby away without telling him?"

Andie pulls the water bottle away from her mouth. "Nicky made it clear he doesn't want this baby. He wanted me to have an abortion, remember?"

"I know, but speaking from a guy's perspective this just feels wrong. You should come clean and tell him."

"I can't take the chance, Tyler. Nicky has a bad temper. He'll freak on me, I plan on getting back together with him after I give the baby away. That'll never happen if he knows I didn't have the abortion."

"And you could live with that kind of secret?" Tyler furrows his brow.

"Yep." Andie sips on her water.

Tyler warns her. "You'll be living a lie if you marry him some day and never tell him that you have a kid out there somewhere."

"I gotta do what I gotta do, Tyler. Remember how mad Nicky was when he found out I was pregnant? If I listened to him and had the abortion this baby would have been a goner months ago. I could live in peace knowing the baby is being raised in a loving home with a family that really wants her. There are plenty of women out there that can't have a child of their own and desperately want a baby. The baby will be better off in that family than with me and I can move forward with my plans for the future."

"I get all that and I agree with you. I just think you should tell Nicky that you're giving the baby up for adoption." Tyler advises.

"He'll hate me for letting him think I had an abortion all these months."

Tyler looks her in the eyes. "He'll hate you more when if he finds out you gave birth to the baby and gave it away without telling him."

Andie takes a deep breath. "It's my decision."

Tyler stares at her disapprovingly.

Andie tells him. "I thought you were on my side?"

"I am on your side. I'm trying to stop you from making a huge mistake."

"You know what? I'm done with this conversation." Andie sips on her water bottle.

Tyler looks at his watch. "It's time for my next class anyway."

Andie pulls Tyler's wrist so she could look at his watch. "Me too." She twists the cap back on her water bottle.

"What class do you have next?" Tyler gives Andie a hand, helping her rise to her feet.

"Thanks, my feet hurt." She says before answering. "I have Music Theory class next."

"Why are you taking Music Theory? You're a science major."

"I thought it would be fun to take as one of my electives." Andie picks up her books.

"Let me guess Nicky's taking that class too?" Tyler grimaces.

"Yep. He told me last spring he was signing up to take it. We'll see if we both got in the same class."

"I'll walk with you to the music building. It's on the way to my class."

"Great." Andie hands Tyler her books to carry. "I hope it isn't too far. My feet hurt."

Tyler looks down at Andie's feet. She's wearing sandals. "Your ankles are huge. Did you ask the doctor about that?"

"They're swollen." Andie tells Tyler. "They started to swell up when I was in Italy. The doctor said it happens in the end of pregnancy especially if you're on your feet walking a lot like we were doing when we were touring Italy. They said I should rest and keep my feet elevated on pillows if they swell up more. Obviously, I can't do that today. The more I walk around the worse they get. "

"Sucks." Tyler says as he walks with her to the music building. He hands her the books. "Say hi to Nicky for me." He teases.

Andie walks into the building and looks for the auditorium where the music theory class is being taught. She hopes it's big enough that she doesn't run into Nicky. She's not sure if this shirt is really hiding her belly or if it's just making her hot and look fat.

Andie finds the auditorium. It's set up with stadium seating. Most of the seats are already taken because it took her so long to walk there on her swollen ankles. She spots Nicky sitting in the back row. There's a pretty girl seated on each side of him, they both appear to be leaning in to talk to him which is good so he doesn't notice her hobbling up the steps looking for an empty seat; not only do her ankles hurt but now she has a sharp spasm in her lower back. She drops her books. Her face turns even more red now with embarrassment as another student picks up her books and hands them to her.

"Thank you," she smiles and thanks the nice student. She notices that there's an empty seat two rows in front of Nicky. She squeezes her way down the row trying not to let her pregnant belly stick in anyone's face as she makes her way to the empty seat. When she finally reaches the seat in the middle of the row, she sits down and turns around to look up at Nicky. She's curious if he noticed her trying to squeeze down the row, and yup, he's looking right at her now. She gives a little wave before quickly turning around again. Her face is bright red and sweaty from being hot and the horrible back spasm didn't help things either.

Nicky makes his way down Andie's row. He's standing in front of her seat now. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, why?" She shrugs and pretends she's just fine.

"You don't look so good."

"Gee... thanks." Andie looks up at him. "Nice to see you too. How was your summer?"

"Amazing. I have so much to tell you. We opened for _The Jungle Boys_. We had the most amazing time touring the east coast with them."

"That's good." Andie tries to smile but she feels another back spasm coming on. She stares straight ahead and grimaces until it goes away.

"What's wrong with you?" Nicky asks.

"I'm just having a bad day. They screwed up one of my classes and I've been running around campus all day."

"Yeah, your face is bright red."

"I'm just hot. " She pushes back her sweaty long red bangs. He notices the little beads of sweat on her forehead.

"You're all sweaty. You should take off that sweatshirt." He looks her over.

"Nah, I'm fine." She brushes her bangs back again.

"Why are you wearing a sweat shirt anyway? It's warm out." Her sweat shirt pulls tight against her eight month pregnant belly when she's sitting. It doesn't escape his eyes now.

"It was cool outside when I left in the morning." She tells him as she tugs at her sweatshirt to loosen it up from her belly.

"Well, it's warm now." Nicky's staring at her belly now. "Take off your sweatshirt." He insists.

"I can't." She answers. "I'm not wearing anything underneath." She pulls out her notebook and pen.

Nicky stares at her protruding belly before he reaches his arm down to place his hand on it. He feels her firm eight month baby bump. She pushes his hand away. "Stop it." She tells him.

He looks directly in her eyes while slowly shaking his head back and forth. His eyes are sympathetic, not angry. She wants to cry. He knows. There's no avoiding it now.

Class is about to start. The professor tells everyone to take their seats. Nicky tells Andie. "We need to talk after class." He goes back to his seat in the last row. The professor calls attention to the front of the room to begin the lesson.

Andie has trouble paying attention through the first part of class. She worries about what Nicky's going to say to her now that he knows she never had the abortion.

Halfway through the class she gets another painful spasm in her lower back. She grimaces and tries to ignore it. The sweat is dripping down her forehead. She hates this day and can't wait for it to be over.

Ten minutes before class ends she feels another spasm in her back. She tries to ignore it again but this one isn't letting up. She squirms to try and get comfortable but she can't. The spasm is too much for her to take this time. She abruptly grabs her books and makes her way out of the row, brushing past the the other students. She hastily walks out of the auditorium on her swollen feet.

She thinks the professor probably hates her for leaving class abruptly while he was still talking but she can't take the pain anymore. She had to get out of there. She looks around for a bathroom but doesn't see one so she decides to walk to the commuter bus stop. She pulls off her sweatshirt as she's walking. She has a tank top on underneath. Most students are still in class and she doesn't care anymore if the scattered few walking around campus see her pregnant belly. She's too hot, miserable, and in too much pain to care what anyone thinks of her now.

"Andie!" She hears Nicky call her from behind. "Wait up!"

"Shit," she says to herself. She's in too much pain. She doesn't want to have a conversation or worse a fight with him now. She picks up her pace, walking as fast as she can on her swollen ankles.

"Andie! Wait up!" It doesn't take Nicky long to catch up with her.

She feels like a cornered animal. "What the hell do you want?" She snaps at him while continuing to walk to the bus stop. She carries her sweatshirt in front of her belly along with her books, still trying to hide her belly from him, even though she knows that he must know.

"You never had the abortion, did you?" He walks alongside her.

"I'm not feeling good, Nicky. This is not a good time to pick a fight with me." Andie tells him.

"I don't want to fight with you. I wanna know what's going on."

Andie continues to walk. "I just want to go home and lie down on my bed. This has been a horrible day for me." She wipes her sweaty brow.

Nicky walks along with her. "I can tell you're pregnant. I just want to know if it's mine." He takes her books out of her arms to carry them for her.

"What the hell?" She snaps. "Of course it's yours!"

"You told me you had an abortion. I don't know. Maybe you got pregnant by someone else after the abortion and that's why you've been pushing me away."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard." Andie scoffs. "And I never told you I had the abortion. You just assumed I did."

"Why didn't you tell me you _didn't _have it?"

"Because you would be mad. I also told you I would never speak to you again if I had the abortion. I'm still speaking to you, aren't I?" Andie holds her belly which is causing her some pain now along with her back.

They reach the commuter bus stop and sit on a bench, waiting for the bus to arrive. Andie tells Nicky "I'm hot, my back hurts, my stomach hurts, my ankles are swollen. It sucks being pregnant. I should have listened to you but I was a dumb kid living in dreamland. Okay? Are you satisfied? You were right and I was wrong."

"What was I right about?"

"I should have listened to you and had the abortion." Andie's eyes tear up. "Then none of this would be happening to me now. I'm such as ass."

Nicky pulls her in close so that she can rest her head on his shoulder. "It's okay, I'm here, Belle." He rubs her sweaty head. "I'll help you."

"I thought you'd hate me if you knew." Andie sniffles, wiping her teary eyes and nose on his shoulder.

He kisses the top of her head. "We'll get through this. You'll be okay." The bus pulls up. Nicky helps Andie up onto her feet. He holds her books while she climbs up the steps and finds a seat on the bus.

"This is so embarrassing." She tells him. "Did you see the way the bus driver looked at me when I got on the bus? I hate being pregnant."

"It's okay, Belle." Nicky rubs her arm. "Hide behind me."

"Thanks."

"When are you due?" He asks.

"In three and a half more weeks."

"Okay." He nods. "I remember the night I knocked you up." Nicky calculates in his head. "That's about right."

"I'll never forget that night. We had mazing sex the night I got pregnant." She tells him.

"We did." He nods.

Andie continues. "But unfortunately, that amazing sex led to this horrible day I'm having today. I feel like crap. I can't do this for three and a half more weeks. What am I gonna do? I can't miss a month of classes." Andie rambles on. "What will tell my parents?"

Nicky just listens. He doesn't have the answers.

The bus stops at the commuter parking lot and they get off. "I'll drive you home." Nicky tells her. They walk to his car. He blasts the air conditioner on high after he starts his car. As he begins the drive home he asks her, "when were you going to tell me you were still pregnant?"

"I wasn't." She answers.

"Who were you going to tell me the baby belonged to?"

"I'm planning on giving it up for adoption."

"You're going to give our baby away?" Nicky screws up his face.

Andie grimaces at him. "You don't want it. _You_ wanted me to have an abortion."

Nicky reaches his arm across the seat and rests his palm on her belly. "That was before, when it was just a thought, now it's real. That's our baby in there."

"Now you want it?" Andie's scowls at him.

"I think, I don't know." Nicky tells her. "I need to give it some thought. This is all new to me."

"Oww!" Andie says. "I'm having another one of those spasms I had in class."

"Are you sure that you're not in labor?" Nicky asks.

"I'm not due for three and a half more weeks. I had a hard day, I just need to lie down." Andie tells him.

"Okay, but can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you know if the baby will be okay, you know, because of the cousin thing?"

"She's okay, I had an amniocentesis." Andie tells him. "The doctor said she was a perfectly healthy baby girl. They couldn't find any chromosomal defects."

"It's a girl?" Nicky asks.

"Yes." Andie nods.

"Did you pick out a name?"

"I like Harper for a girl's name, if I was going to keep her but I figured I'd let her adoptive parents name her."

Nicky nods. "I like Harper. It sounds like a little rocker girl's name."

Andie explains. "It's after the author, Harper Lee, she wrote 'To Kill A Monkingbird.' It's momma's favorite book."

Nicky adds. "It sounds like a little rocker girl to me, Harper Poulos." Nicky says. "How about Ava for a middle name, after my grandmother in Greece?"

"Nick, you drive me bonkers." Andie tells him. "First, you demand I have an abortion. Now you want to name her after your grandmother in Greece?"

Nicky raises his eyebrows. "We have to deal with what's coming." He rubs her belly. "And I have a feeling she's coming sooner than you think."

"Oooh.. ..Do you feel that?" Andie takes Nicky's hand and presses it firmly against her belly.

"What is that?" Nicky's eyes open wide.

"She's kicking me in the belly."

"That's wild." Nicky leaves his hand planted on Andie's tummy.

"She must like the sound of your voice." Andie tells him.

"That's amazing!" Nicky can't take his hand off Andie's belly. "There's a real baby in there!" His voice is filled with excitement. "I can feel her moving."

"Yes, she's real. I feel her moving around everyday." She laughs at his excitement.

"I'm sorry." Nicky tells Andie. "I was an ass for asking you to have an abortion. I'm so happy you didn't listen to me."

"What?" Andie grimaces again. "Nicky, after a few months _I_ regretted _NOT_ having the abortion and made the decision to give her up for adoption. Now _you_ act like you want to keep her? I can't believe this is happening."

"She's real now. She's tangible. I can feel her kick." Nicky pulls into the driveway of the Freedman's house. "She's ours."

Andie shakes her head. "It's like we switched brains." She tells Nicky as he helps her out of the car.

Nicky helps Andie walk to the front door. They walk in. "What's going on?" Chase asks. "What are you doing home so early?"

"I'm sick. Are you the only one home?" Andie asks.

"Yeah, the boys aren't home from school yet and momma and dad are at work."

"Good." Andie says.

"What's he doing here?" Chase refers to Nicky.

"He's helping me. I'm not feeling great today." She slowly climbs up the steps to her room on her swollen ankles. Andie tells Nicky. "I told Chase and Tess. They know I'm pregnant."

"Who else knows?" Nicky asks.

"Just Tyler and Danielle. Those are the only people I told."

"You mean your parents don't know you're pregnant?"

"Nope. I was away all summer and have been hiding under big shirts since I got back."

"Is she okay?" Chase watches Nicky help Andie slowly up the steps. "Why is she walking so slow?"

"Her ankles are swollen, it hurts for her to walk." Nicky tells him. "Do you think I should I take her to a doctor?"

Chase shrugs. "Hell, if I know. I'll call Tess. She volunteers at the free parenting clinic."

Andie slowly walks to her room and plops down on her bed. "Ahhhh," she sighs and sprawls out on her back. "That's better."

"Should I take you to a doctor?" Nicky asks. "Your ankles are really swollen."

Andie looks at them. "That's because I was walking around so much on campus today. The more I walk the worse they get. They'll be okay if I elevate them. Get me some pillows."

Nicky places two pillows under Andie's ankles."What about school tomorrow?" Nicky asks.

"I'm can't go back and have a repeat of today. Today really sucked." Andie tells him. "Being pregnant sucks."

"What can I do to help?" Nicky asks.

"Rub my ankles." Andie closes her eyes. "That will help."

Nicky kisses Andie's belly. "Be right back, Harper Ava. I have to rub your mommy's feet."

Andie opens her eyes. "Are you seriously talking to her now?"

"Why not?" Nicky rubs Andie's ankles.

"You're not supposed to talk to her and call her by name." Andie explains. "It'll make it harder to give her up after she's born."

Nicky looks in Andie's eyes while rubbing her ankles. "I already told you, Belle, I'm not so sure I want to give her up."

Andie lies her head back down on her pillow. " You're driving me insane."Andie sighs. "That means I hafta tell my parents I'm pregnant if we keep her."

"Yeah." Nicky chuckles "They might wonder where she came from."

"I can't do that." Andie closes her eyes again. "I can't tell them that I'm pregnant."

"Why not?"

"It'll break their hearts. I don't want to do that to them. I'm their pride and joy."

Nicky chuckles. "I thought Chase was their golden child?"

"I'm their firstborn and the only daughter. I'm the oldest." Andie enjoys the foot rub from Nicky. "I'm supposed to set the bar for my brothers as an example."

"Your parents just have to take a glance of you to know that you're pregnant, I wouldn't be surprised if they already know but are in denial." Nicky shakes his head. "They're doctors. How could they not see it if I could see it?"

"They don't check out my body the way you do when you look at me." Andie says, half joking

Nicky laughs. "Still, how can they not know?" Nicky's confused. "They're doctors. I could tell as soon as I saw you walk in the auditorium. In fact, I suspected at your graduation party."

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I didn't want to believe you would lie to me about having the abortion. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"I didn't lie to you. I never actually said I had the abortion." Andie rubs her aching back with her hands.

"I apologized to you for telling you to have an abortion at least five times and you never told me you didn't have it."

"But I never said I did either."

"Why didn't you just tell me you didn't go through with it?"

"Because you have a temper and you're mean when you're mad. I didn't want to deal with it."

Nicky nods his head. "I admit I need to work on my temper. My mom always said I got it from my father."

Andie looks up at Nicky while he massages her feet. "_You_ should have said something if you suspected I was still pregnant at my graduation party."

"I told you I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt." Nicky answers. "I didn't think you'd spend the summer in Europe either if you were pregnant so I gave you the benefit of the doubt."

"I wanted to go to Europe. I wasn't going to let this baby stand in the way of me living my life."

"Looks like that's exactly what Harper Ava is doing to you right now." Nicky massages her swollen ankles.

"I hate this." Andie says. "It sucks."

"Okay, Belle, we have to make the best of it. You only have three and a half weeks left."

"Easy for you to say." Andie moans loudly while holding her back. She lets out a little yelp.

"What's going on?" Nicky asks, concerned.

"Damn baby." Andie growls. "It must have kicked me hard in my back. Damn, that hurts!"

"Don't blame the baby, Andie." Nicky rubs her back. "It's not the baby's fault. She was probably just stretching or something."

"Then whose fault is it?" Andie corrects herself, sarcastically. "Oh right, mine for having unprotected sex without telling you."

Nicky rubs her lower back now. "We're past that. I'm here for you. You can stay at the cottage with me until you're ready to tell your parents. I'll take care of you."

"Thank you." Andie gives him a small smile before letting out a scream.

"Did she kick you in the back again?" Nicky asks.

"I think so." Andie cringes and holds her back. "She must be getting very strong because it hurts like hell." Andie rests her head on Nicky's shoulder and pants in pain.

Chase opens the door. "What the hell is going on?" He asks Nicky. "Why is my sister screaming?"

"She says the baby keeps kicking her really hard in the back."

"Is she in labor or something?" Chase asks.

"She says she's not. She's not due for three and a half weeks." Nicky asks. "But how can you tell for sure?"

"Hold on." Chase says. "I'll call someone who knows."

"Not momma!" Andie yells at her brother. "You better not call momma or Addison or any of her friends from the hospital!"

"Okay." Chase pushes a button on his phone.


	110. Chapter 110

_**CHAPTER 110-Hello Baby!**_

* * *

><p>Tess comes over after Chase calls her. She rushes up to Andie's room.<p>

"How do we know if she's in labor?" Nicky asks.

Tess answers. "I learned at the clinic if you're in real labor the contractions get closer together over time. In false labor the contractions are sporadic."

"How are these, Andie?" Tess asks. "Are they consistent or sporadic?"

"They've been getting more intense all day." Andie tells her "They're stronger now than they were at school."

Tess says. "And another way to tell if they're real is if your water breaks. If your water breaks you're definitely in real labor."

"How do we know if her water breaks?" Nicky asks.

"Oh, you'll know." Tess tells them. "It will come gushing out."

"Eww!" Chase says.

"I'm just telling you what I've seen from volunteering at the clinic." Tess tells them. "I'm no expert."

"Do you think she's in real labor or fake labor?" Nicky asks.

"My guess is that she's having false contractions because she's not due for another three and a half weeks. False contractions prepare you for the real ones." Tess says. "But the only way to know for sure is to go to the doctor and have her get hooked up to a fetal monitor."

"I don't want to go anywhere." Andie says. "I'm tired, I want to stay in my bed. OWWW!" Andie shrieks.

They all gather around her bed, looking at her. Drew runs in the room followed by Noah who just got home from school. "OWWW!" Andie screams again before curling her body up into the fetal position and whimpering. "I can't take this anymore." She cries. Nicky climbs on the bed and holds her in his arms.

"What's wrong with Andie? Why's she crying?" Drew asks.

"Get out of here, Squirt!" Chase pushes Drew and Noah out of the room. "Get him out of here!" Chase yells at Noah before he shuts the door on their faces. "Take him out somewhere!" Chase yells through the closed door.

Drew runs to the phone and calls his momma. Charlotte answers after the first ring. "Momma, something happened to Andie." Drew's voice races with excitement.

"What happened, Squirt?" Charlotte listens.

"She's in her room and she's crying like something hurts her. I think she's really sick. Chase kicked me and Noah out of her room." Drew talks fast. "They wouldn't tell me and Noah why she was crying."

"What was she doing when she was crying to make you think she's really sick?" Charlotte asks.

"She was crunched up on her bed like her stomach hurt and Nicky was holding her." Drew tells.

"Nicky's there too?"

"Yes, Nicky and Tess are up in her room with Chase."

"Okay. I'm on my way home right now." Charlotte calls Cooper to meet her so they can drive home and see what's happening. Charlotte calls Andie and Chase's mobile phones but neither answer.

"Andie, we need to get you to a hospital to get checked out." Nicky says. "You're making me nervous with all this screaming and crying. I think you're in labor."

"Okay." Andie agrees with tears streaming down her face. "Can Someone call Dr. Taylor and tell her?"

Tess picks up the phone and calls the free clinic to tell them what's going on. She calls out to Andie. "Dr. Taylor said she'll meet you at St. Ambrose. She said to go straight to the labor and delivery wing."

"I'm not going to St. Ambrose. Tell Dr. Taylor I'll go to St Catherine's or any other hospital besides St. Ambrose." Andie yells back as Tess.

"Okay," Nicky nods and repeats to Tess. "Not St. Ambrose."

"Someone needs to pack me a bag for the hospital." Andie grimaces while holding her back. "I need clothes and pajamas."

"I'll do it." Tess grabs a bag out of the closet.

Chase leaves the room to go downstairs to check on Drew and Noah. Nicky rubs Andie's back.

"I'm scared." Andie cries. "What if this is real labor? I didn't tell my parents I'm pregnant yet."

"It's okay." Nicky kisses the top of her red head.

"Your bag is ready." Tess zips it up. Nicky helps Andie stand up. Andie feels a gush of fluid rush out of her when she stands up. She runs for the bathroom and locks the door.

Nicky follows her, he knocks on the door. "What's wrong, Andie?"

"Her water just broke." Tess tells him. "Look at the floor. There's a trail of water leading to the bathroom."

"Holy shit!" Nicky exclaims. "It _is_ the real contractions. She's in real labor."

Tess knocks on the door. "Andie let us in."

"No." Andie sits on the toilet letting the water leak out of her. "Not yet."

"Andie, are you okay?" Nicky asks.

"I don't know. I think so." She answers.

Nicky and Tess wait outside the bathroom door. "Talk to us Andie so we know you're okay."

"This water keeps leaking out. When will it stop leaking?" Andie asks Tess.

"I don't know. I'll check for you." Tess yells down the stairs to Chase. "Search on your iPad and find out how long it takes for the water to stop leaking out after your water breaks."

"Andie?" Nicky knocks on the door. "Come on! I need to take you to the hospital now!"

"I can't get up. This water drips out every time I stand up!" She calls out from the bathroom. "It's going to look like I wet my pants if I go anywhere."

"Did you look it up yet, Chase?" Tess calls down the stairs.

"I'm trying." Chase call back up the stairs to Tess. "I can't find it yet."

Nicky bangs on the bathroom door again. "Andie, who cares if it's leaking? I need to get you to a hospital now!"

"My pants are soaked!" Andie yells out. "Toss me in another pair of underwear and a pair of sweatpants."

Tess runs to the dresser and pulls out the pants. Andie unlocks the bathroom door. She opens it just enough to grab her clothes and then slams it shut and locks it again.

"This is no time to be modest, Belle." Nicky tells her.

Andie pulls the clean pants on. "It won't stop leaking. My new pants are getting wet too." Andie starts crying again in the bathroom. "I hate this. I'm so scared. I want my momma. I need my momma." She sobs to herself.

"What did you say, Andie? Do you want me to call your mother?" Tess asks.

Andie doesn't answer but they can hear her sobbing.

"That might be a good idea." Nicky tells Tess. "Her mother is a doctor."

Andie lies on the bathroom floor and continues to cry to herself.

Chase yells up the stairs. "I found it. It says it leaks continuously. It's not going to stop. It keeps replenishing itself until the baby is born."

Charlotte and Cooper walk in the door.

"Say that again!" Tess yells down the stairs.

Chase isn't aware that Charlotte and Cooper just walked in. He yells back up the stairs. "It says the amniotic fluid will continue to leak and replenish itself! It's not going to stop leaking!"

"What the heck?" Cooper looks at Chase.

"Look up how much time we have after the water breaks!" Tess yells down the stairs to Chase. "Andie locked herself in the bathroom and won't come out!"

"Good God!" Charlotte runs up the steps. Cooper runs after her.

"What's going on?" Cooper yells at Nicky and Tess.

"Andie's in the bathroom and she won't open the door." Tess tells them. "Andie's pregnant and we think she might be in labor. Her water just broke. We need help."

Cooper gives Nicky an intense glare.

Nicky rubs his hands over his eyes, not making eye contact with Cooper.

"I'm going to assume that you're the father?" Cooper's tone is agitated.

"Aha." Nicky looks at the bathroom door now, avoiding eye contact with Cooper.

Charlotte knocks on the door. "Andie, its momma. Open the door!"

Andie cries louder now. Cooper shoves them all out of the way. "Watch out," he says as he pops open the lock with some gadget on his key chain. Charlotte rushes to Andie's side. Andie's lying crunched up in a ball on the bathroom floor.

"Are you okay, baby?" Charlotte sits by her side and rubs her head.

"No, momma. I'm not okay." Andie sobs, lying on the floor. "I'm so sorry."

"We need to get you to the hospital." Charlotte and Cooper try to help Andie up. Andie starts screaming. "No. I can't get up." Andie plants herself firmly on the floor. "I want to stay here."

"Coop, pick her up and put her on the bed so I can examine her." Charlotte tells him.

"Come on, Andie Candy. We're going to help you." Cooper scoops Andie up, cradling his daughter in his arms. He gently lies her down on her bed while Charlotte washes her hands in the bathroom.

"I need everyone to get out so I can examine Andie to see what's going on." Charlotte tells them all.

"Can I stay to hold her hand?" Nicky asks. "I won't interfere with what you're doing."

"Please, momma? Let Nicky stay." Andie peads.

"Fine." Charlotte reluctantly agrees.

Tess hands Charlotte a blanket to cover Andie's lower half for the exam. "Here, I learned some stuff from working at the clinic."

"Okay, you can stay too. I may need you" Charlotte tells her. Nicky holds one of Andie's hands while Tess holds the other. Charlotte starts to remove Andie's pants.

"No, momma! Don't do that!" Andie yells.

"I'm a doctor, Andie. It's nothing I haven't seen before." Charlotte attemps to slide down Andies pants.

"No momma. Stop it!"

"Listen to your momma, pumpkin." Cooper rubs Andie's head. "She knows what she's doing."

"NO!" Andie screams out in pain while grabbing Nicky's forearm. She squeezes as tight as she can.

"I have to check you, Andie." Charlotte tries to explain. "I need to see how far along you are."

"I'm in my eight month." Andie tells her. "I'm due in three and a half weeks."

"Is that okay?" Nicky asks Charlotte. "Will the baby be okay if it's not supposed to be born yet?"

"One month early is fine." Charlotte looks at Andie again. "I meant I need to see how far into labor you are. When did the contactions start?"

"I didn't know they were contractions. I've been having cramps since last night but they got worse this morning when I went to school. They got so bad by the afternoon, I had to walk out in the middle of my class."

"That happens when you're in labor, Sweet Pea." Charlotte explains. "The contractions get closer together and more intense the longer you're in labor. I'm assuming you've been in labor all day and didn't know it."

Cooper just shakes his head and sighs.

Nicky looks at Andie. "Were you at least under a doctor's care?"

"Yes." Andie grimaces with another contraction. "I got the prenatal vitamins and check ups but then I was in Europe for the summer."

"So, you didn't see a doctor while you were in Europe?" Charlotte asks.

Andie squeezes Nicky's hand tight and grimaces. "NO!" She screams. She's screaming more because of the pain than anything else.

"It's okay, pumpkin." Cooper rubs Andie's head. "You'll get through this. We'll help you."

Nicky looks at Charlotte and asks. "Do you think the baby will be healthy if she wasn't under a doctor's care for the summer?"

Tess joins in while Andie squeezes her hand. She tells them. "Andie had an amniocentesis when she was fifteen weeks pregnant. I went with her. The results came back good. The baby is healthy."

"That's a relief." Cooper rubs the sweat off his own brow now.

Charlotte looks at him. "Are you okay, Coop?"

"I'm fine. It's just hot in here."

"Sit down." Charlotte tells him. "I don't need you passing out on me."

Cooper sits on the bed. "I'm fine. It's just not everyday than my teenage daughter goes into labor in her bedroom."

"I'm sorry, dad!" Andie squeals out. "I didn't mean to do this to you. That's why I didn't tell you and momma."

Charlotte raises an eyebrow and tells Andie. "We knew. We knew before you went to Europe."

"You did?" Andie asks, surprised,before screaming again. "AGGGGHHHHH!"

"I really need to check you." Charlotte makes another attempt to tug Andie's pants down. "I need to know whether to call an ambulance or if I have time to drive you to St. Ambrose."

"NO!" Andie shouts at Charlotte. "If you pull them down, she's going to to fall out. I can feel her head between my legs." Andie cries.

"You're probably just feeling pressure down low, let me check." Charlotte insists.

"No. momma. I can feel it, really, please just leave me alone."

"I'm not going to leave you alone." Charlotte turns to Cooper. "Get my medical kit out of the car and bring some towels just in case."

Charlotte turns back to tell Andie. "Okay, Sweet Pea. I'm going to try this one more time and you're going to cooperate with me this time. Got it?" Charlotte gently slides down the waist of Andie's pants. She has a blanket covering Andie so only Charlotte can see what's going on.

"I don't want her to come out yet, momma. I'm not ready for this. She's not supposed to be here for another month."

Charlotte sighs. She wants to say you should have thought about that nine months ago but she bites her lip and tells her. "I need to see what's going on." Charlotte tugs the pants down and tries to push Andie's legs apart.

Andie fights her, trying to squeeze her legs together. "No momma, I don't want her to come out. I'm not ready yet." Andie cries.

"It's a little late for that, Sweet Pea. This baby is crowning already." Charlotte tells her.

"What does crowning mean?" Nicky asks.

"It means you can see the top of her head." Tess explains.

"Does she have any hair?" Nicky asks.

"She has a head full of blonde hair." Charlotte tells Nicky. "Just like Noah and Drew had when they were born."

"You hear that, Belle? The baby has blonde hair."

Andie cries. "I don't care! I hate this! It hurts like hell!"

"Okay, when you feel the next contraction.. I want you to push." Charlotte explains. "We're delivering this baby here."

Andie screams and pushes. Cooper runs in the room with the medical kit and towels.

Charlotte orders him. "Give me some sterile gloves and grab the suction syringe out of my bag! Suction this baby's nose and mouth! And someone call 911!"

Cooper pulls on a pair of surgical gloves and does as told. He doesn't say anything or look at anybody. He suctions the baby's nose and mouth as soon as the head emerges. Tess calls 911.

Charlotte pulls on a pair of surgical gloves. "Okay, give me another good push and the shoulders will be out." Charlotte tells Andie. "Once the head and shoulders are out the rest is easy."

"I don't want to do this!" Andie cries. "I can't do this!" Andie screams.

"It's okay, Belle." Nicky holds Andie's hand. "She's almost out. Don't you want to see who she looks like?"

Andie screams and gives another push. Charlotte pulls gently on the baby, rotating the shoulders, guiding them out. "You're doing great, Andie. The hardest part is over. The rest is easy."

Andie gives another push and the baby slides completely out into Charlotte's hands. Cooper clamps off the umbilical cord with a sterile clamp from Charlotte's medical bag. Charlotte wipes off the baby with a towel while Cooper cuts the cord. The baby starts crying. Little pink fists and feet wave in the air.

Nicky stares at the pink baby in Charlotte's arms. "That's friggin' amazing." He gasps. "It's a real little human, a real baby." He looks over at Andie now. "This is unbelievable. I can't believe a real little human came out of you."

"What did you think would come out?" Andie scowls at him.

Nicky corrects himself. "I knew it would be a baby but I can't believe we did that. We made her. It's just wild. I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Cooper jokes. "I guess your parents never gave you the talk about where babies come from. No wonder we're in this situation."

Tess responds. "I understand what Nicky's saying. I know where babies come from but seeing it happen with your own eyes is pretty wild and amazing." Tess watches Charlotte clean up the baby.

"You've just witnessed the miracle of birth, thanks to Andie." Charlotte tells them, sarcastically. The baby screams in Charlotte's arms while Cooper examines her.

"Ten finger, ten toes, she's nice and pink; she's got a good set of lungs on her." Cooper gently takes the baby from Charlotte. He wraps her up in a large bath towel. He looks her over for any obvious defects. "She looks good to me." He tells Andie. Cooper holds the baby while Charlotte delivers the placenta. They could hear the ambulance sirens approaching.

"Can I hold her?" Nicky asks Cooper.

Cooper kisses the baby on the head before handing his grandaughter to Nicky. "Here, like this." Cooper places the baby in Nicky's arms. "Hold her this way, like you're cradling a football."

Nicky admires his newborn daughter. "Hello, baby. I'm your papa."

"You sound like an old man calling yourself papa." Andie looks over at Nicky.

"That's what I call my father. That's what I'm used to." Nicky plays with his daughters fingers. Tess plays with the little foot that's dangling out from the towel.

"She's so cute." Tess smiles. "You're so lucky."

"Don't get any ideas." Cooper tells Tess.

"No, believe me, I won't." She answers Cooper. "I'll play with this little one for now. Can I hold her?" Tess asks Nicky.

"Let Andie hold her first." Nicky slowly walks closer to Andie with the baby in his arms. "Do you want to hold her, Belle?"

"Not right now." Andie answers, casually.

"Why not?" Charlotte looks up at her daughter.

"I don't want to get attached. I'm putting her up for adoption"

"What?" Nicky clutches his daughter a little tighter. "Why?"

Andie looks up at Nicky. "Don't do this to me now, Nicky. _YOU_ wanted me to have an abortion, remember?"

"Not anymore." Nicky holds his daughter protectively close to his chest.

Andie scoffs. "Yeah, well, it's a little late for that so I chose adoption as the other option."

"I was wrong to ask you to abort her. She's amazing." Nicky gently kisses the baby's head.

"I can't believe you want to keep her now." Andie says.

He raises his eyebrows. "I can't give this little beauty away. She's ours"

Charlotte and Cooper exchange glances with each other.

Andie asks Charlotte. "Can I go in the bathroom to get cleaned up now?"

"You need to go to the hospital and get started on some antibiotics since it was an unexpected home birth."

Charlotte takes the baby from Nicky's arms. "I wanna hold my granddaughter." Charlotte stares at the newest addition to her family. "Hello, little darlin'. Aren't you just the prettiest lil' thing in town?"

"I'm sorry that I made you a grandmother so young, momma."

"Are you kiddin'?" Charlotte looks at the baby. "I love this little darlin' already."

Chase lets the medics in the house and shows them to Andie's room. They put Andie on a stretcher and try to take the baby from Charlotte. "Not a chance." Charlotte tells them. "I'm not letting go of the peanut. I'll ride in the ambulance with y'all."

"Yes, Dr. King." The medic responds.

Charlotte climbs in the ambulance holding her brand new granddaughter. Cooper, Nicky, Tess and Chase follow the ambulance in Cooper's car.

Drew and Noah sit downstairs in the living room playing a video game. "What just happened?" Drew asks Noah.

"Andie had a baby. Now we're uncles." Noah tells him.

"I'm six." Drew says. "I'm too young to be an uncle."

"Apparently not, you and me are uncles now, Squirt." Noah playfully shakes Drew's hand. "Congratulations Uncle Drew, sorry I don't have a cigar for you." He jokes.

"Congratulations, Uncle Noah." Drew shakes his hand. "Is it good that Andie had a baby? I thought it was a bad thing?" Drew asks Noah.

"Momma looked happy holding it so I guess it can't be that bad." Noah shrugs. The boys go back to playing their video game.


	111. Chapter 111

_**CHAPTER 111**_

* * *

><p>Nicky sits at Andie's bedside in the hospital, cradling the baby in his arms. He tries to feed the newborn a bottle. He gently sticks the bottle in her little mouth, the baby begins to suck on it. "Good baby." He smiles at the newborn.<p>

"She's not a puppy." Andie says, not bothering to look up from her magazine. Nicky watches his daughter suckling on the bottle. "How's that, Harper? Is that good stuff that papa's feeding you in your ba-ba?"

Andie looks over at him now. "Why are you calling her Harper?"

"I thought you liked the name Harper?" Nicky looks confused.

"I said I only liked it if I intended to keep her and I'm not sure so don't call her that yet."

"Belle?" Nicky looks at her with wide eyes.

Andie puts the magazine down now. She tells Nicky in a harsh voice, "I'm serious, Nicky. Don't call her Harper because I really like the name and if we have another baby girl one day when we're married I want to save the name for her." Andie picks her magazine back up and tries to find her page.

Nicky looks at the sweet little baby girl in is arms. His heart breaks for her. He looks back up at Andie. "You should really try holding her, Belle. You'll get to know her better that way. She's real sweet."

"If I hold her it'll be harder to give her up." Andie flips through the pages of the magazine.

"It's already going to be hard to give her up. I love this ladybug."

Andie looks up at her magazine. "Don't get too attached, Nicky." Andie warns.

Nicky raises his eyebrows. "She's my daughter. I'm not giving her away to anybody."

Now it's Andie's turn to turn up her eyebrows. "This is a big switch from the guy that demanded I have an abortion after we found out I was pregnant."

"It's different now." Nicky looks down at his baby. "She's real now. She's a little person."

"What did you think I was pregnant with?" Andie scoffs "A kitten?"

Nicky looks down at the baby who's sucking away at her bottle. "I'm relieved you didn't have the abortion. This little ladybug's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me."

Andie puts down her magazine to question Nicky. "If we keep her, how are we going to make it work? Will she live with you or me?" Andie asks.

"I guess you." Nicky tells her. "I'm hardly ever home between school and playing in the band."

Andie starts "We _both_ have school and after school I'll need time to study. What are we going to do with her?" Andie looks over at the baby now.

"Your parents could help us out." Nicky suggests.

"It's not fair to ask them. She's not their baby." Andie looks at Nicky. "You told me all this when we found out I was pregnant. These are the exact reasons you gave me to justfiy getting an abortion."

"How many times do I have to tell you I was wrong about the abortion?"

Andie insists. "I'm not asking my parents to help raise her. She's not their problem. I'm the one who screwed up and got pregnant, not my momma."

"I can ask my mother to help." Nicky suggests. "She loves babies and Suzie would love to babysit for her."

"Does your mother even know about her?" Andie asks.

"I called her last night and told her." Nicky says.

"Was she mad?"

"She didn't believe me. I had to send her a picture of me holding Harper from my phone for my mom to believe I wasn't playing a prank on her." Nicky tells. "But after she saw the picture she was more concerned if the baby was healthy; you know cuz of the cousin thing." Nicky says.

Andie rolls her eyes.

Nicky continues. "I told her Harper was healthy, so she's okay with it . She's going to come up later today to see the baby."

Andie nods her head and looks back down at her magazine. "Well I'm glad your mother is happy about it."

"I didn't say she was happy about it. I said she was okay with it. What's she going to do? The baby is here whether anyone likes it or not."

"That's for sure." Andie flips through her magazine.

"What's your problem?" Nicky asks. He's starts to get irritated with her attitude.

"What's my problem?" Andie puts her magazine back down. "Are _you _joking?" Andie continues. "I spent the last eight months hiding a pregnancy from the world. I let you think I had an abortion. I made the decision to give her up for adoption and now that she's here _you _want to keep her. Do you know what kind of hell my life has been like for the past eight months?"

"I'm sorry but you should have told me what was going on."

"I didn't tell you in the begining because I didn't want you to force me to have the abortion then when I decided you were right it was too late to have an abortion so I chose adoption and you can't agree with that either." Andie complains to him.

"I can't give her up now." Nicky gently pulls the empty bottle out of the baby's mouth. "She's mine."

Andie explains. "When I first found out I was pregnant, I dreamed about this; about you, me and the baby. I had a picture in my mind of us as a happy little family. That's why I didn't have the abortion. But when I was about five months pregnant I started to feel her moving inside me. It became real. I thought this is a real little human moving inside me and it scared the hell outta' me. I don't know what to do with a baby. I'm too young to be a mother." Andie looks at the baby.

"I wish I could have been there to help you deal, I'm sorry you had to go through it alone." Nicky wipes some formula dribbling from the baby's mouth away with his thumb.

Andie continues. "The pregnancy started interfering with my life. I couldn't get the prom dress I wanted because of the baby bump. I had to get this puffy gown to hide the pregnancy from everyone."

"I saw you wearing that dress at the prom. It wasn't that bad."

"_Wasn't that bad?"_ Andie repeats to Nicky what he just said. "It was my _PROM_. I should have been able to wear a dress that that made me look _Amazing, _not a dress that_ WASN'T THAT BAD. _Being pregnant ruined my prom for me. I knew then that it was just the beginning. I knew if I kept this baby it would ruin the rest of my life."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Belle. Just because you have a kid it doesn't mean your life is over."

Andie tells Nicky. "You don't understand. You can't."

"She's my baby too." Nicky looks down at the baby squirming in his arms. "I think she's still hungry. Should I give her more?" He asks.

Andie shrugs. "How would I know? I don't know how much she can eat."

"I'll try giving her a little more and see what happens." Nicky opens another bottle filled with formula that the hospital provides for its newborns.

"Anyway." Andie continues their conversation. "Danielle started talking about going to Europe for the summer. I knew it was my last chance for fun before the baby was born. So I went. I don't want my life to be over at eighteen."

"You're life's not over if we keep her, Belle. I was wrong; she's not going to ruin our lives." The baby spits out some formula. "I think she's full. I'm afraid to burp her. Do you want to do it?" He asks Andie.

Andie shakes her head. "No, call the nurse if you're afraid to burp her."

"Let me try it first." Nicky tries his best to burp the baby by placing her over his shoulder. He gently pats her back. "Do you think I'm patting her too soft?"

"Maybe, try going harder."

"I'm afraid to hurt her if I pat her too hard." Nicky worries.

"So, call the nurse." Andie looks for the call button, just then the baby lets out a burp.

"I did it, Belle. Did you hear that? She burped." Nicky's excited.

"I heard it." Andie rolls her eyes. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd be all excited over a burp." Andie rolls her eyes.

"I did it." Nicky says proudly. "It really wasn't that hard."

"Well, pin a rose on your nose." Andie goes back to her magazine.

"I'm going to try and give her a little more." Nicky gently sticks the bottle back in the baby's mouth.

"Why?" Andie chuckles. "So, you can get your jollies burping her again?"

"Hey, at least I'm trying." Nicky defends himself.

Andie continues to tell her story. "Anyway, I decided it would be better for everyone if I gave her away. I wouldn't have to tell you or my parents I was pregnant. There would be no baby. I talked to the doctor at the free clinic about putting her up for adoption."

"What did they say?" Nicky asks.

"They wanted me to meet with a counselor first to make sure I wasn't going to change my mind."

"Did you meet with the counselor?" Nicky asks. He tries to burp the baby again.

"No, I was busy with the prom and graduation and then I left for Europe. I actually have an appointment to meet with her today. I could call her and ask her to come up here and talk to us." Andie suggests.

"I'm keeping her." Nicky tells Andie. The baby burps again. "That was a big burp for a tiny baby." Nicky talks to his daughter in a soft voice before kissing her head and putting the bottle back in her mouth.

Andie watches. "You're good with her." She tells him now.

Nicky shrugs as he feeds the baby. "You just do what feels natural, that's all."

Charlotte and Cooper walk in the room. They're both carrying shopping bags. "Grandma went shopping!" Cooper announces with a smirk on his face.

Charlotte elbows Cooper hard in the ribs earning herself a yelp. "Hand me my grandaughter." She tells Nicky as she drops her shopping bag onto Andie's bed. Nicky hands the baby over. Charlotte fondly admires the newborn in her arms. Cooper teases her. "Well, if you aren't the cat that won the cream."

"It's the cat that got the cream, Cooper, not the cat that won the cream, if you're going to steal my expressions at least say them right." Charlotte jostles Cooper

Nicky laughs. "Isn't she a beauty?" He says to Charlotte.

"She sure is." Charlotte adores the baby for a few more minutes before lying her down on the bed. "Hand me the pink onesie and the peach stretchy outfit with the brown pony on the front." Charlotte orders Cooper.

Cooper forges through the shopping bags searching for the outfit.

Charlotte adds more items to the list "And get me the little yellow burp bib with the matching burp towel."

"I'm looking." Cooper searches through the bags. "There's so much clothes in this bag and you're asking for specific outfits."

"She didn't have anything. I needed to get her closet started." Charlotte sighs at Cooper. "Fine, it doesn't matter. Any bib or towel will do." Charlotte turns to Nicky. "She needs a diaper change. You up for it?"

"Uh...yeah." Nicky's eyes open wide. "I guess I have to learn it sooner or later."

"She's here." Cooper tells Nicky. "It's sooner." Cooper tosses Nicky a tiny diaper and package of baby wipes.

Nicky moves beside Charlotte. "Okay, what do I do?"

"First, take the old diaper off and hold her ankles up and away with one hand. Then take the other hand and wipe her skin gently from front to back with this wipe." The baby kicks her feet free from Nicky's hand. "You need to hold her ankes with a tighter grip, like this." Charlotte holds the baby's ankles up for him. "You're not gonna break her." Charlotte tells him.

Cooper chuckles. "You don't want her feet kicking free when you're changing her. She'll be flinging poop all over the room with them."

"No she won't." Charlotte tells Nicky. "But her feet will get all messy so it's better to hold em up to avoid a mess."

"She's so little." Nicky wipes the baby's bottom. "Her legs are like little chicken bones."

"She won't break." Charlotte assures him. "You'll get use to it in no time."

"Is that normal?" Nicky points out the baby's loose bowel movement.

"Yes." Charlotte answers. "That's normal for a newborn. All she drinks is formula, her poop is going to look like that until she starts eating solid food."

Cooper snickers, teasing Nicky. "You won't see any logs until she's eating solid food and by then they sit in it and mush it around. It'll look like mush." Cooper snickers while Nicky wipes the baby.

Charlotte shoots Cooper a glare. "Is that what you tell the parents of your infant patients?"

"Daddy?" Andie scolds Cooper. "Really? You're a pediatician."

Cooper continues. "It's always fun when they start eating solids you can find corn and all kinds of surprises in their poop."

Charlotte turns to Cooper. "Put a cork in it."

Cooper presses his lips tightly together and gets quiet like a scolded child.

"How am I doing?" Nicky asks.

"You're doing fine." Charlotte hands him the tiny diaper. "Now put the new diaper on."

"Don't I need to put some cream on her first?"

"Not unless she's red or rashy. As long as you clean and dry her right you don't need cream." Charlotte explains. "If she's got sensitive skin like Andie did the cream can give her a diaper rash."

"Momma?" Andie scowls. "Don't tell Nicky I had diaper rash. That's embarrassing."

Cooper chuckles.

"Ignore them." Charlotte tells Nicky. "You'd never know there was only one baby in this room. Just put the diaper on the baby." Charlotte instructs Nicky.

"Yes ma'am." Nicky lifts the baby's tiny butt up and places the little diaper under it. He tapes it closed.

"Make sure you fold over the top like this so it doesn't leak." Charlotte shows him the correct way.

"Congratulations." Cooper shakes Nicky's hand. "You just passed diaper 101 class." Cooper looks at Andie. "Next time it's your turn."

Nicky sits back down with the baby and tries to feed her the bottle again.

How's she doing with that?" Charlotte watches. She knows Nicky's nervous. He has no experience with babies.

"She burps really loud. Is that normal?" Nicky asks Charlotte. "It kind of shocked me earlier. It was real loud for such a small baby."

"Kind of like a truck driver?" Cooper jokes.

"Yeah sort of." Nicky agrees. "Is that okay? Does it mean that I fed her wrong? Did I let her swallow too much air?"

"Ah." Cooper grins. "It means she takes after her mother. Andie always burped like a truck driver as an infant."

"Stop it, daddy." Andie glares at Cooper. "You're not funny."

Cooper turns his attention back to Nicky. Cooper speaks in a fatherly tone this time. "It'll surprise you what can come out of these little guys but it's all good. They're adjusting to their little bodies." He looks over at Andie again. "How are you doing, Andie Candy?"

"Just peachy." Andie shrugs, not looking up from the magazine.

"Can I try feeding her?" Charlotte asks Nicky.

"Sure." Nicky passes the baby to Charlotte.

Charlotte puts the bottle back in the baby's mouth. She watches the baby suckle. "She has Andie's full lips and nose." Charlotte tells Nicky.

"I think she's beautiful." Nicky tells Charlotte.

"She is." Charlotte smells the baby's head. "Does she have a name?"

"We're not sure yet." Nicky looks at Andie.

"In my family...-" Charlotte starts to say.

Cooper interrupts. "Here we go."

Charlotte continues. "In my family we have a tradition of naming the girls after Southern cities. I'm Charlotte after the city in North Carolina. My mother is Augusta after the city in Georgia."

"That's cool." Nicky says. "Andie already told me that. That's why you named her Alexandria after the city in Virgina."

"That's right." Charlotte nods.

"I was thinking about it when I was holding her before." Nicky tells Charlotte.

"I knew I liked you." Charlotte smiles.

Nicky looks at Andie. "What do you think, Andie?"

Andie looks up from her magazine. "If we decide to keep her I told you I want to name her Harper like Harper Lee."

"Harper Lee." Cooper nods. "I didn't know you liked that name."

"I like Scout better but we already named the dog Scout so it doesn't feel right to name her after the dog."

"Your momma wanted to name you after her dead horse." Cooper chuckles.

Andie furrows her brow and looks at Charlotte. "What?"

Charlotte shakes her head. "I wasn't serious and it wasn't you. It was years before your father and I were married and we thought I was pregnant."

"Oh, so it almost happened to you to?" Andie questions Charlotte.

"I wasn't a teenager." Charlotte raises her eyebrows at Andie. "I was already a doctor and in my thirties when we had that false alarm."

Nicky looks at the baby. "So are we naming her Harper?"

Andie snips. "I said Harper _if_ we decide to keep her."

"What about your family tradition?" Cooper asks Charlotte. He has a puzzled look on his face. "What will your momma say?"

"There's a city in Alabama called Harpersville and another one in Mississippi, so momma can't complain." Charlotte explains.

"I'm not calling her Harpersville, momma." Andie replies. "It will be just Harper _if_ we decide to keep her."

"Okay." Charlotte responds. "I'll tell my momma we named her Harper after the city Harpersville in Mississippi. That's where her daddy was born, momma will be pleased as punch if we call her Harper."

Cooper laughs. "Glad that's settled."

"Would you mind if we used Ava for her middle name?" Nicky asks. "It's my grandmother's name."

"Harper Ava?" Charlotte says out loud. "I like it."

"_If_ we decide to keep her." Andie shrugs.

Charlotte wrinkles her forhead at Andie. "What do you mean _if_ you decide to keep her? She's not a puppy, Andie."

Andie answers, casually. "Nicky wants to keep her but I'm not so sure."

"Nicky's her father; you can't give her up for adoption if he doesn't agree to it." Charlotte tells her.

"I wouldn't. I mean if Nicky really loves her, I'm not going to force him to give her away." Andie tells them.

"Don't _you_ love her?" Charlotte asks Andie.

Nicky chimes in. "Andie hasn't held her yet. She hardly looks at her."

"That's because I don't want to bond with her. It'll make it harder to give her up."

Nicky tells Charlotte. "Once Andie holds Harper I know she'll fall in love with her."

"Why don't you hold her, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte rocks the baby in her arms.

"I can't." Andie's eyes tear up.

"If you hold her it'll help you decide if giving her up for adoption is the right thing to do." Charlotte explains. "You'll know if you're ready to be her momma once you hold her. It'll either feel right or it won't."

Andie lets a few tears fall before telling Charlotte and Nicky. "If I hold her, I'll want to keep her just like what happened to Nicky after he held her. She'll know that I'm her mother. She'll expect me to know how to take care of her and I don't."

"We'll help you, Andie Candy." Cooper sits next to her on the bed. "I'm a pediatrician. I'll be around to help you."

Nicky asks Cooper. "Would you be willing to watch baby Harper while Andie and I are at classes at UCLA?"

"Are you kidding?" Cooper smiles. "I would have to lighten my schedule up but I can make room for this peanut." Cooper plays with Harper's little toes while Charlotte holds her.

Charlotte looks at Andie. "We don't want to influence you because this is _your _decision." Charlotte looks at both Andie and Nicky. "It's probably going to be the most important decision you'll make in your life but know that your father and I will help you if you decide to keep her." Charlotte hands the baby back to Nicky. 'C'mom, Coop, let's leave them alone to talk."

After Charlotte and Cooper leave, Nicky tells Andie. "I really want to keep her, Belle. I love her already."

Andie sighs. "I'll tell the social worker not to come. She's never going to approve the baby for adoption if she hears you talking like that."

"I wish you were on board with me about this, Belle."

Andie looks back at her magazine.

"Just try and hold her. I'll be right next to you." Nicky pleads

Andie looks up from her magazine."She looks happy in your arms. Just leave her be for now."

"Promise me, you'll try holding her later, Belle. Please?" Nicky pleads. "Do it for me."

Andie sighs. "I'll hold her tomorrow."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." Andie tells him before going back to reading her magazine. Nicky leans back in the chair holding his new daughter. The baby raises her tiny pink fists in the air and squirms around in his arms.

"Hey Harper Ava." Nicky says gently. "Do you like your name?" He plays with her tiny fingers. "Are you trying to figure out your new world. I bet you miss being safe in your momma's belly?"

Andie looks over at them. "I'm glad she's out. That was really uncomfortable at the end."

Nicky rubs the baby's tiny back. "It's okay Harper. Poppa's got you now. You're safe." Nicky starts to sing softly to the baby as she falls asleep in his arms.

Andie can't help but smile at the two of them. Her heart starts to melt a little.

"Harper couldn't have a better daddy than you." Andie tells Nicky.

"Thanks, Belle." Nicky reaches over and gives Andie a little kiss in the lips. "This is the best gift anyone could ever give to me."

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper walk down the hall together. "So, what do you think?" Cooper asks.<p>

"They're keeping her."

"I want them to keep her too, Charlotte, but it's their baby and if they decide to give her up, you have to be prepared."

Charlotte walks with her hands in her pockets. "Nicky wants her. Andie can't give her up."

Cooper runs his hand along his head. "But what kind of life is that for Harper if Andie is only keeping her because Nicky won't let her give her up?"

"She'll have me." Charlotte grunts at Cooper.

Cooper rolls his eyes and sighs. "You're not Harper's mother, Char."

"If Andie doesn't want her, I'm the closest thing that baby's got to a momma right now."

"I don't want to see you hurt, Char, if Andie convinces Nicky to give her up."

Charlotte turns on her heels to face Cooper now. "Did you see Nicky with that baby girl? He's already named her. He's changed her diaper. He's fed and burped her. There ain't no way that boy's giving that baby up."

"Okay." Cooper worries.


	112. Chapter 112

Chapter 112

* * *

><p>Charlotte's sitting in the hospital nursery feeding Harper Ava a bottle of formula. Violet walks over. "How are you, grandma?"<p>

"Bite your tongue." Charlotte looks up and tells her old friend. "Won't be long before someone's callin' you grandma."

"Oh no." Violet sits down next to Charlotte. "Lucas still needs to be accepted into medical school and get through residency and Lila's only fourteen."

"I wasn't countin' on any of my kids making me a grandmother yet either." Charlotte watches the baby suck down the formula.

Violet watches Charlotte feed the new baby. "I was shocked when Cooper called to tell me the news."

"We all were." Charlotte nods.

"So, how does it feel to be a grandmother?" Violet smiles at the hungry newborn, guzzling down her formula.

"Bittersweet."

"How do you mean?" Violet asks.

"Bitter because I wanted more for Andie. My eighteen year old daughter is a mother and she doesn't want to be. She hasn't even held the baby yet."

"Eeee." Violet cringes. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"S'pose it couldn't hurt." Charlotte shrugs.

"She looks like you." Violet tells Charlotte.

"You think so?" Charlotte looks down at the baby with the full head of fine blonde hair.

"She has your coloring and the same shape face as you. I think she even has your eyes."

Charlotte teases. "She _is _adorable, isn't she?"

"She's precious, now tell me about the sweet part?" Violet asks Charlotte. "You said it was bittersweet."

"The sweet part is every time I look at this little angel's face I fall in love all over again. I don't want to put her down. I feel like she's mine."

Violet nods. "That's a normal grandmotherly response. She's your baby's baby but you need to keep in mind she's _not_ yours. You have to hand her over to Andie and Nicky."

"Andie's not sure if she wants to keep her but Nicky's great with Harper."

"Is that her name? Harper?" Violet watches the baby drink.

Charlotte nods. "This is Harper Ava Poulos. Harper meet your great aunt Violet."

"Great aunt?" Violet grimaces, playfully.

"Hey, if I have to be grandma then you can be a great aunt." Charlotte smiles, Violet laughs.

"So, you really had no idea that Andie was pregnant?" Violet asks.

"Cooper and I suspected a while back. We were waiting for her to say something but she never did. Then Amelia confirmed it for us."

"You didn't want to confront her?"

"Andie doesn't do well with confrontation. We knew it would end badly so we decided to play her game and wait for her to come to us."

"It bet it was hard for her to do that."

"I don't think she was planning to ever tell us." Charlotte admires the baby

"Why?"

"Apparently, my daughter planned to give the baby up for adoption and not tell us _or_ Nicky she was pregnant."

"I'll talk to her." Violet assures Charlotte. "I'll figure out what's going on in her head."

"Thanks, Violet."

"Where's grandpa today?" Violet asks.

"He's at home with Nicky and Chase. They're bringing the crib and baby furniture down from the attic. It has to be cleaned and all ready for when we bring this little peanut home."

"Are they going to set the crib up in Andie's room?"

"Nooo." Charlotte tells Violet. "Andie wouldn't appreciate that. She doesn't even want to hold her. We're setting the crib up in the guest bedroom that my momma uses when she comes to visit."

"I'll talk to Andie." Violet says. "It sounds like I have my work cut out for me."

"Good luck." Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

"Do you mind if I take Harper?" Violet asks. "I want to hold her while I'm talking to Andie. I want to see the way she reacts to her."

"Be my guest." Charlotte hands Violet the baby. She gives Harper a sweet kiss on the head before telling Violet. "Take care of both my girls, will you?"

"I promise." Violet carries Harper Ava to Andie's hospital room.

* * *

><p>Drew's playing a video game with Sarah at Amelia and Sheldon's house. "I saw a picture of your baby sister." Six-year old Sarah tells Drew. "She's a cutie."<p>

Drew keeps his eyes focused on the video game. "She's not my sister. I'm her Uncle Drew."

"You're six. You're not old enough to be an uncle." Sarah tells Drew.

"Am too. My sister had a baby that makes me an uncle." Drew watches Sarah take a turn at the game.

"I want a baby sister. It's like owning your own living doll. You can dress her up and puts bows in her hair and feed her bottles. I want one."

"I don't play with dolls." Drew tells Sarah.

"You're lucky. I want one of those girl babies to play with." Sarah loses her turn and hands Drew the remote.

"Ask your mom. Maybe she'll make one for you." Drew takes his turn.

"How can she make one?" Sarah asks.

"She needs your dad. They need to take off their clothes and kiss."

"Yuck." Sarah shakes her head at the thought.

Amelia comes in the room with a bowl of popcorn. "I thought you might like a snack." She places the popcorn down on the table in front of them.

"I want a baby sister, Mommy." Sarah tells Amelia.

"I don't know about that, honey." Amelia answers.

"Why not?" Sarah pleads. "I really want a little baby sister like Drew has."

"I told you it's not my sister. I'm it's uncle." Drew grabs some popcorn.

"Can you and daddy make one for me, mommy?" Sara pleads. "Please?"

"I don't think your daddy and I can do that?" Amelia tells her.

"All you have to do is take your clothes off and kiss. It's yucky but it will be worth it for me to have a baby sister." Sarah explains.

Amelia's face turns red. "Who told you that's how to make a baby?"

"Drew told me."

Drews looks up at Amelia. "That's what my dad told me."

"Oh." Amelia nods.

"So, can I have one?" Sarah asks.

"Mommy's getting too old for that." Amelia tells Sarah. "You can play with Drew's niece."

Sheldon walks in the house. "How is everybody doing?"

Sarah runs up to Sheldon to hug him hello. "I want a baby sister, daddy. Mommy says no. Can you please make her change her mind?"

Sheldon looks at Amelia.

* * *

><p>Chase knocks on the door to the Powers Family House. Tess's mother, Cyndi answers. "What beautiful flowers!"<p>

"They're for Tess. She was a big help to my sister when she had the baby."

Cyndi Powers shows Chase into the house. "Congratultions on becoming an uncle." Cyndi calls Tess to come downstairs.

"What's the occasion?" Tess asks. She notices him holding the colorful bouquet of flowers.

"No occasion." Chase hands her the flowers. "These are just to thank you for being you."

"Aw, how sweet." Cyndi excuses herself and walks into the kitchen.

"My mother already loves you but that just gave her a reason to love you even more." Tess tells him.

"Good." Chase nods. "I like scoring brownie points with your mother."

Tess puts the flowers in a vase with water. Chase follows her. "How's Andie doing?" Tess asks.

"She's overwhelmed at becoming a mother. I think she's in shock at how much Nicky loves the baby."

"Really?" Tess asks.

"Andie was planning to give the baby up. Nicky wants to keep the baby so Andie doesn't have a choice now. She's going to be a momma whether she wants to or not."

"That's so sad for Harper. I hope Andie comes around." Tess puts the vase down on the coffee table.

"Harper will be okay. She's loved by a lot of people already. Nicky's great with her. My parents are in love with her and I think she's pretty cool myself."

"I love her too." Tess reminds him. She sits down on the couch.

"Don't sit down." Chase tells her. "I made dinner reservations for us."

"Why?"

"To thank you for being there for my sister when she had the baby."

"No need to thank me. I wanted to be there for her."

Chase grabs Tess by the waist. He spins her around and kisses her. "I love you."

"Me too." Tess kisses Chase.


	113. Chapter 113

_**A/N- A reader sent me a pm to tell me that Andie reminds her of her cousin. I wanted to tell you how I imagine Andie to look. I imagine her to look like the actress Jane Levy who plays Tessa on the hit comedy Suburgatory. She looks like she could be CharCoop's daughter. Nicky is a hot rocker type with dark hair that falls longer in the front than the back. Chase looks just like Cooper and Tess has straight blonde hair and a southern accent. But y'all can picture them how you want. If you have a different idea let me know-I'm curious who y'all think they look like. **_

chapter 113

* * *

><p>Violet carries Harper into Andie's room. Andie looks up. "Hello, Aunt Violet. I see you've heard the news."<p>

"Harper's a beautiful baby. Would you like to hold her?" Violet approaches Andie's bed.

"I'll pass. She looks fine with you."

Violet sits in the chair next to Andie's bed holding Harper Ava. "You're her mother. She needs you."

Andie looks at Violet. "I don't feel like her mother."

"Explain that to me." Violet speaks in her soft therapist tone. "Why don't you feel like Harper's mother?"

"I decided to give her up for adoption months ago. I knew it would be the best thing for her and for me. My dad was adopted and had a great childhood. Same thing with Danielle. She told me how much her mother wanted a baby and couldn't have one of her own, adopting Danielle was the best thing that happened to her and Danielle doesn't even want to think how her life would have turned out if Addison didn't adopt her. So, I thought adoption would be best for my baby and me. I still do."

"I understand that." Violet nods and looks at the baby. "But in your case the father doesn't want to give her up."

"I know." Andie nods. "I can't believe how great Nicky is with her. I can't rip her away from him and put her up for adoption, it's messing me up."

"Why is it messing you up?" Violet asks. "If Nicky wants to keep her, he'll be a good dad and Harper will have a good life."

Andie swallows "Well Nicky didn't even want me to have her. He wanted me to have an abortion. He changed his mind when he felt her kick in my belly, he said she became real to him then."

"I understand that." Violet tells Andie. "Nicky didn't like the idea of becoming a father yet, but once he realized she was a real baby he automatically became a father."

Andie sighs. "Nicky wants to keep her and it makes me love him even more to see this side of him but he's busy. He has college and the band, he's not going to have much time to spend with the baby which means I'll be stuck with her."

"You really feel no connection to her?" Violet quizzes Andie.

"I tried hard not to form a connection with her when I was pregant because I didn't intend to keep her. I don't feel like a mother. I still feel like me and _she _scares me."

"How does she scare you?" Violet asks, gently.

"Look at her." Andie tells Violet. "She's so tiny and fragile. She'd be totally dependent on me. I want to go to college and live my life."

"You're not alone in this." Violet puts her hand on Andie's. "You have a lot of people willing to help; your parents, Nicky's mother and I'll bet your brothers wouldn't mind looking after her once in a while if you needed them too."

"I know that. Everyone's been great. I thought they were all going to hate me if they found out."

"They don't hate you. They love both you and Harper. Nobody's mad at you for having Harper."

Andie nods. Tears start brimming in her blue eyes.

"Do you think you could try to be a mother to Harper?" Violet gingerly asks.

Andie tells Violet. "I don't know."

"A good way to start is by holding her. Most mothers bond with their newborns after birth while they're holding them. You haven't held her yet."

"I promised Nicky I would hold her today." Andie swallows while staring at the baby in Violet's arms.

"Here." Violet gently places the baby in Andie's arms. "I'm right here next to you. It's okay."

Andie cradles the baby, tears start leaking down her cheeks.

Violet keeps a hand on the baby while Andie holds her to show support. "How does she feel?" Violet asks.

"Warm and real." Andie looks down at the baby. "Like a real baby."

"She is a real baby." Violet smiles. "She's _your_ baby. Yours and Nicky's"

Andie swallows and looks at Violet. "Nicky's so good with her. It's like right after she was born he became a dad. He knew what to do and how to take care of her. That didn't happen for me."

"That's because you didn't hold her and bond with her like he did, but you're doing it now." Violet smiles. "Harper's in your arms and she's doing fine."

"Don't leave me alone with her." Andie looks up at Violet.

"I won't." Violet smiles.

Andie stares down at the baby she made. She has a terrified look in her eyes.

Violet picks up on it and tries to ease her thoughts by asking, "who do you think she looks like?"

"Well," Andie licks her lips and really studies the baby for the first time. "She has blonde hair like my momma and she kinda has the same face as her too but she's got my full lips. Well, Nicky has full lips too so I guess she gets that from both of us."

Violet nods. "I think you're right."

"Does she look healthy to you, Aunt Violet?"

"She looks very healthy. Why do you ask?"

"Well, cuz of the cousin thing. I hope she's not messed up cuz of that."

"She doesn't look messed up." Violet assures Andie. "She looks perfect."

"I had an amniocentesis when I was pregnant to make sure she didn't have anything wrong with her."

"What did the amniocentesis show?" Violet asks.

"It was normal but it doesn't test for every disease in the world. She could have some rare disease they didn't test for."

"She looks fine to me." Violet smiles. "She doesn't look like she has any rare diseases."

"I hope not. It might not show up right away." Andie tells Violet.

"Are you worried about that? Are you worried she might have some kind of genetic disease because you and Nicky are related?"

Andie's eyes start to water again. She looks down at the baby. "I'd never forgive myself if she did. Everyone warned me and Nicky to stay away from each other because we're cousins but I didn't listen. If she's sick it would be all my fault."

"Oh, honey." Violet wipes a tear from Andie's face. "It's okay. Harper looks healthy. She'll be okay." Violet hugs Andie gently.

"Do you promise?" Andie asks.

"I can't promise anything but she looks like a perfectly healthy baby. I saw your momma feeding her, she eats like a champ. There's no reason the believe she's not healthy."

Nicky walks in the room. He smiles at first at the sight of Andie holding Harper. Then he asks. "Why are you crying?"

Violet gets up. "I'll leave you two alone to talk. Are you okay with me leaving you with the baby?" Violet asks Andie before she leaves.

Andie nods. "Yeah...Nicky's here."

Nicky sits next to Andie. "Wow, look at you, holding Harper. You're doing great with her, Belle, and Harper looks so content in your arms, like she's right at home."

Andie wipes her tears. "She is cute. Isn't she?"

Nicky looks at the baby. "She's beautiful, just like her momma." He wipes another tear off Andie's cheek. "Now, tell me why you're crying."

"I'm worried about her."

"Why?"

"The cousin thing, you know. I'm worried there could be something wrong with her that we can't see yet."

"We can have her tested." Nicky looks at the baby.

"I had an amnio when I was pregnant and it was good but like I told my Aunt Violet, the amnio doesn't test for every rare gene."

"Harper's perfect, Belle. If she had something serious wrong with her we would have noticed it by now. She's doing everything she should be doing for a newborn, she's eating, she's alert when she's not sleeping. You're worrying about nothing."

"I hope you're right because if she had a bad disease it would be my fault if she had to suffer."

"Look at her, Belle. She looks happy and comfortable in your arms doesn't she?"

Andie looks down at the baby who is now asleep in Andie's arms. "Yeah."

"We did this, Belle. We made her and I don't regret it. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm glad we didn't' listen to everybody who told us to stay away from each other or we wouldn't have her."

"You're really are in love with her aren't you?"

"I'm writing a song about her. I can't wait until Cody and the rest of the band sees her. It'll help inspire them with the song."

Andie looks down at the baby. "You're lucky to have such a good daddy."

* * *

><p>Drew climbs into the crib in the guest room and turns on the musical mobile. Cooper walks in the room. "What are you doing in there, Squirt?"<p>

"This used to be my crib." Drew tells Cooper.

"Right." Cooper nods. "But you grew out of it years ago. Now it's Harper's crib."

"Why did Andie have to have a baby?" Drew asks.

"I explained to you how adults make babies." Cooper watches Drew play in the crib.

"But Andie's not an adult. She's not married. She shouldn't have a baby!" Drew sulks.

"Come out of the crib. We need to keep it clean for the baby." Cooper lifts Drew out of the crib.

"It's still my crib even though I don't use it anymore. Nobody asked me if that baby could borrow it."

"I take it your not to happy about the new baby?" Cooper carries Drew out of the guest room.

"Why do you and momma spend so much time up at the hospital with the baby? You always leave me home alone with Chase and Noah?"

"You're not alone if you're with Chase and Noah are you?"

"No, but I want you and momma. Why are you always up at the hospital visitng that baby?"

"Because the baby is so little and Andie is a young new momma. We need to help her." Cooper explains.

"What about me? I need help too." Drew complains.

"What do you need help with?" Cooper asks.

Drew tries to think. "My homework."

"Okay." Cooper nods. "Show it to me. I'll help you with it now."

"I don't have any today." Drew answers.

"Aha, I thought so." Cooper tweaks Drew on the nose. "Did you know that you will always be your momma's and my baby even when your a fifty-year old man?"

"What about Andie's baby?" Drew asks with big eyes. "You and momma act like it's your baby and I'm not the youngest kid anymore."

"Harper is Andie and Nicky's baby but they never had a baby before so your momma and I are going to have to help them in the beginning until they're comfortable being parents. Do you understand?"

Drew pouts and nods. "Yes."

Cooper wears a devious smile and tells Drew, "think of it this way, Squirt, you know how Andie, Chase and Noah always boss you around because you're the youngest?"

"Yeah. I hate that." Drew nods.

Cooper tweaks Drew's nose again. "Now you have somebody younger than you to boss around."

Drew's eyes light up. "Yeah. I didn't think of that." He smiles at Cooper. "This _could_ be fun."

"But." Cooper adds. "You're so much bigger than her, you're going to need to look out for her."

"I will. I won't let anybody bother her when she goes to school."

"Good." Cooper chuckles. "I promise it'll all work out for all of us."


	114. Chapter 114

_**CHAPTER 114**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper escort Andie in the front door, followed by Nicky. Nicky's carrying Harper Ava in an infant seat. Tess and Chase get up to greet the group.<p>

"Oh! She's precious." Tess looks at baby Harper. "So sweet."

"Don't get any ideas." Chase warns Tess.

"Yeah. Don't do it Tess." Andie says loud and clear. Nicky tenses his jaw and shakes his head.

"I wouldn't. Well, not for another ten years anyway." Tess reassures the group. "My parents would kill me. They're definitely not as relaxed as your parents."

Now Charlotte rolls her eyes and tells Tess. "This wasn't in our plans either, but Harper's here now and she's part of the family."

Nicky sets the infant seat down on the couch. He gently takes Harper out.

Drew runs over followed by Noah. "Wow! Is that her?" Drew asks.

"This is Harper Ava Poulos." Nicky tells him.

"She's so small." Drew looks at the baby.

"You were once that small, Squirt." Cooper tousles Drew's hair.

"Ha ha." Noah laughs.

"You were even smaller, Noah. You were only two pounds when you were born. Harper's six pounds." Cooper tells Noah.

"Why was Noah so small?" Drew asks.

"Noah was born three months early. Harper was only one month early." Charlotte tells them.

"Ha!" Chase teases Noah. "Is that why Noah's still so small now? He looks like a twelve year old instead of a fourteen year old. They still give him the kiddie menu when we go out to eat."

"Shut up, Chase!" Noah pushes Chase.

"Knock it off!" Charlotte tells her boys.

"Welcome home to the chaos." Cooper smiles and tells the baby. "I think you'll like it here."

"She can stay at my cottage on nights I'm not playing in the band. Nicky tells them. "My mom said she would buy a bassinet for me to keep at the cottage for when Harper comes over."

"That's nice of her." Charlotte responds.

"Harper Ava Poulos is definitely a King." Cooper announces.

"Don't you mean a queen, dad? She's a girl." Chase raises an eyebrow at Cooper.

"I mean she's a King, like I said. She looks like the King's, your mother's family. She's blonde with petite features."

"Petite, just like Noah and Drew." Chase teases again.

"Noah and Drew take after your mother's family." Cooper joins the teasing now. "The Kings are all runts."

"Cooper, if you want to be able to walk up those stairs later I suggest you shut your mouth." Charlotte glares.

"What?" Cooper plays innocent. "I was just teasing." Cooper looks at baby Harper. "I hope you get your grandpa's sense of humor and not your grandma's."

"That's right! "Noah exclaims. "You're grandparents now. You don't seem old enough to be grandparents."

"We're not." Cooper says looking at Andie. "It's courtesy of your sister that we're grandparents so young."

"I'm hungry." Andie says. "I'm going into the kitchen."

Tess follows Andie. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Hungry." Andie looks in the fridge for a snack.

"How does it feel to be a mom?" Tess asks.

"No different." Andie shrugs.

"Harper Ava is so cute." Tess tells Andie.

"Yeah, I guess." Andie makes herself a sandwich.

"Nicky really seems to have fallen into the dad role." Tess comments, watching Andie fix her sandwich.

"I know." Andie agrees. "You would never know he insisted I get an abortion when I found out I was pregnant. Now he's in love with the baby."

"Maybe he feels guilty." Tess thinks out loud. "Maybe he thinks if you listened to him Harper wouldn't be here right now."

"She wouldn't." Andie bites into her sandwich.

"So, are you and Nicky back together now?" Tess asks.

"I don't know, I guess." Andie shrugs. "We haven't really talked about what we are to each other now besides Harper's parents." Andie takes a sip of water. "I want us to be the way we used to be before I got pregnant but I have a feeling it's going to be different now with Harper."

"Well, yeah." Tess nods. "A baby definitely changes things. Are you planning on going back to school?"

"Of course," Andie tells her. "I'm going back to school tomorrow. This doesn't change anything." Andie sips her milk.

"Oh!" Tess says a little surprised. "Who's going to take care of Harper?"

"My dad wants to do it. He's a pediatrician, she's in good hands."

Nicky comes into the kitchen. "Can I talk to Andie a minute, Tess?"

"Sure." Tess gets up to leave.

"What's up?" Andie asks.

"I wanted to see how you were doing?" Nicky takes a bite of Andie's sandwich.

"Peachy."

"C'mon Belle, talk to me."

Andie takes a deep breath and sighs. "Well, my parents hate me for making them grandparents so young. My brothers think it's freaky to have a baby in the house. Drew's used to being the baby of the family."

"Your parents love Harper. They're in the living room fighting over who gets to hold her right now."

"They may love Harper but they hate me."

"They don't hate you. You're their child they'll never hate you."

"Okay, so they're disappointed in me. I'm the failure in the family."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Belle. You're going back to UCLA tomorrow. Do well in school." Nicky tells her. "Your father agreed to watch the baby. You can still go to school and have your career. You can still be you, Belle, even with Harper around."

"What about us, Nicky?" Andie asks. "How do we go back to being us with a baby?"

"We take it one day at a time. " Nicky shrugs. "I'm going to school and playing in the band. That's not going to change."

"But what about us? Are we a couple again?"

"I've wanted to be for a long time but you were the one putting it off."

"Because I didn't want you to know I was pregnant."

"I'm sorry about that. I wish you would have told me."

"You insisted I get an abortion, I didn't know you were going to change your mind."

"I'm happy now that you didn't get the abortion." Nicky kisses Andie on the top of her head. "Harper amazes me every time I look at her. I can't believe _we_ made her."

"I can." Andie bites her sandwich. "I felt her kicking me everyday when I was pregnant. I just wanted it to stop."

"Do you love her?" Nicky asks.

"Of course I do. Why?"

"It kinda sounds like you resent her." Nicky tells Andie. "You can't blame her for anything. We made her. We brought her into the world, none of this is her fault."

"I know that." Andie tells Nicky. "I don't blame her. I don't know what it is?" Andie tries to think. " I guess I still feel like we would all be better off if I gave her up and you and my parents never knew about her then we could all go back to living our lives the way it was before."

"Belle, please don't feel like you messed up anyone's life by getting pregnant. I'm not mad at you anymore for not telling me you were off the pill when you got pregnant. I'm over it."

"I still blame me. I had a lot of time to think about it. It was really stupid of me to take the risk and it was unfair to do to you. I hate myself for doing that to you."

Nicky puts his arm around Andie. "I'm happy with the outcome. If I wasn't happy with the outcome I wouldn't be here now."

Andie sighs and smiles. "Harper's lucky to have a dad like you. You're a natural. I suck as a mom."

"If you would just hold her more often and get to know her, break down this wall, you'd probably surprise yourself and be a great mom."

"I don't feel like a momma. I feel like the same 'ole me."

Nicky tries to explain. "Okay, just _be_ you, just be Andie with her. You don't need _to try_ to act like her mother. She knows your voice the best. She needs you to help her feel safe." Nicky tries to explain.

"You really think so?"

"I know it." Nicky tells her. "Now go out there and just be Andie. Just hold the baby as yourself, Andie"

Andie sighs and gets up from the table. She walks into the living room. Cooper's holding the baby on his lap. "Can I hold her, daddy?"

"Of course." Cooper stands up and hands the baby to Andie. "How does it feel?" Cooper asks Andie. It's only the second time Andie has held the infant.

"Scary."

"Why, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte asks.

"I have no idea how to be a momma. I'm afraid I'll screw her up."

"You don't think I felt the same way when I first held you?" Charlotte asks.

"You did?"

"Course I did. I was scared to death I would screw you up. Right, Cooper."

"Right." Cooper nods. "There was a time when your mother didn't even want kids because she was so afraid of messing you up. But then you came along."

Cooper says to Andie. "I think your momma did a great job of raising you up. Don't you?"

"Yes" Andie nods.

"I had your father to help me just like you have us and Nicky to help you." Charlotte advises Andie. 'You're not alone, Sweet Pea. Yes, you're young but we'll help you. Your father and I do have some experience." Charlotte raises her eyebrows.

"Just a little." Cooper jokes. The baby starts to cry in Andie's arms.

"Why's she crying?" Andie tries to hand the baby back to Cooper. "I don't think she likes me."

"She's probably just hungry." Cooper tells her. Talk to her while I get her bottle ready.

Andie sits down on the couch with the baby. "Please don't cry we're getting you a bottle. Please don't cry."

"It's okay if she cries, Sweet Pea." Charlotte tells her. "That's what babies do. It's how they communicate since they can't talk."

"It makes me nervous when she cries."

"You'll need to get over it cuz she's going to cry _a lot_. She'll cry when she's hungry or cold or has a belly ache. It's up to you to figure out why she's cryin' and fix it."

"We'll figure it out together, Belle." Nicky rubs Andie's back. "Harper Ava will be fine."

Cooper hands Andie the bottle. She puts it into Harper's mouth and the baby sucks away." Andie watches the baby guzzle down her formula. The little blonde baby's eyes are wide open. She looks into Andies eyes as she sucks on her bottle. Andie smiles, genuinely, at her baby for the first time since giving birth. "I think I can get used to this." She tells her parents and Nicky.


	115. Chapter 115

_**CHAPTER 115**_

* * *

><p>It's four am on a Thursday morning, the rain is pounding down on the window. Cooper rolls over wrapping his arm over a sleeping Charlotte. He's just about to nod back to sleep when he hears a piercing "Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!" He looks at the clock on the bedside table, 4:01. He turns over onto his back, resting his head on the pillow. He waits and listens.<p>

Charlotte wakes up to the wailing now. "Ugh!" She sits up in bed. She looks at the clock. It's 4:04 now. "Should we go and get her?" Charlotte groans.

Cooper looks at the clock again. "I'm giving her another minute."

Charlotte kicks her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm not."

"What are you doing?" Cooper asks.

"I can't listen to that child scream all night. I'm going to get her."

"You're not her mother." Cooper warns.

"Obviously, her mother isn't getting up to get her so I have to." Charlotte stalks out of the room to the nursery. She comes back into the bedroom ten minutes later with Harper bundled in a pink baby blanket with little yellow duckies on it. She's holding a baby bottle filled with formula. "Scoot over." Charlotte instructs Cooper as she climbs back into bed holding the baby.

"Give her to me." Cooper instructs. "You have a meeting at seven am. I don't have to go into the office until ten today."

"Ya' sure?" Charlotte asks.

Cooper takes the baby out of Charlotte's arms. "Andie should be doing this."

"I know." Charlotte agrees.

"So, why do you keep getting up to get the baby every night? Andie hasn't done one night feeding yet."

"One, I don't want her to wake up the whole house, the kids have to be up for school in a few hours, including Andie. Andie has class at the universtiy at eight am."

"And we have to be up for work. It's her baby, Char. We're making it too easy for her." Cooper feeds the newborn.

"What do you suggest, Coop? Let the baby scream and starve all night?"

"Nooo. We should wake Andie up and make her feed her baby."

"And then she'll fall asleep during class an UCLA. We want her to graduate from college one day, don't we?" Charlotte snaps.

"Of course we want her to graduate."

"How is she supposed to do that if she's sleep deprived and not paying atttention in class?"

Cooper takes the bottle out of Harper's mouth to burp her. "Andie needs to take responsibility for her child and I don't see her doing that. We feed the baby at night. I've cut my hours at work to watch the baby. Leslie cut her hours at work to watch her the days I can't.

"That's only temporary, Coop, as soon as Harper's old enough she'll go to the hospital daycare."

"And you'll be the one taking Harper to daycare in the morning when you go to work and taking her home with you. What exactly is Andie doing?" Cooper raises his eyebrows and asks.

Charlotte defends. "Andie just started her freshman year at college, Coop. I want her to focus on that. Don't you?"

"Andie also just became a mother of her own doing. She needs to focus on that too."

Charlotte looks at the baby. "Is she done eating yet?"

Cooper nods.

"Good. I'll take her back to bed. So much for sleeping tonight." Charlotte takes the baby from Cooper and carries her back to the guest room. After she places the baby back in her crib, she bumps into Andie in the hall. "Everything all right?" Charlotte asks.

Andie yawns and rubs her eyes. "Yeah, I just had to use the bathroom. What time is it?"

"It's four thirty in the morning." Charlotte folds her arms and glares at Andie.

"What are you doing up, momma?"

"Your father and I fed your baby. I just put her back to bed."

"Oh." Andie starts to walk back to her room.

"I don't even get a thank you?" Charlotte asks.

"Oh, thanks." Andie continues to walk.

Charlotte follows Andie to her room. "How did you not hear that infant crying? You have a monitor in your room. Your father and I could hear her down the hall."

"I shut the monitor off."

"Why would you do that?"

"So, she wouldn't wake me up." Andie shrugs.

Charlotte shakes her head. "That's the point of the monitor. She's supposed to wake you up so you can feed her."

"Seriously, momma? She's not going to starve if she doesn't get fed in the middle of the night."

Charlotte shakes her head in disbelief. "You really know nothing about babies do you? Didn't you read any baby books when you were pregnant?"

"No." Andie shakes her head. "I wasn't planning on keeping her, remember?"

"Lesson number one." Charlotte says, firmly. "Newborns have tiny stomachs. They need to eat every three to four hours all day long."

"Jeepers" Andie sighs. "I can't do that. I have to be awake for school."

"And I have to be awake for work. I run a hospital." Charlotte says, firmly.

"Can we hire somebody to feed her at night?" Andie asks.

"We can but we won't." Charlotte tells her. "Your father and I will take turns feeding her on school nights but you're going to wake up and feed her on the weekends."

"Fine." Andie grumbles. "I want to go back to bed now."

"One more thing." Charlotte tells her.

"What?" Andie turns around to look at her mother.

"How did this happen?" Charlotte asks.

Andie rubs her hand over her face. "How did what happen?"

"How did you get pregnant?"

"Momma?" Andie screws up her face now.

Charlotte sighs. "I know how you got pregnant. I mean _why _did it happen? I gave you the pill. I told you to use condoms. Tell me what else I could have said or done to help you prevent this."

"It's not your fault, momma. I missed the pill for a few days when Nicky and I were staying at the safe house because I didn't have it with me."

"Why didn't you use a condom then?"

"We didn't have one." Andie's face is starting to get red. "We don't use them."

"Why not?" Charlotte folds her arms again. "I told you to use them as a back up."

"You said to use them to prevent std's. Nicky and I don't have any of those so we figured we didn't need to bother using them."

Charlotte takes a deep breath and blows it out. "Okay then, if you knew you missed the pill why did you still have sex knowing you didn't have a condom."

"I wanted too. Nicky didn't know I was off the pill."

"What?" Charlotte raises an eyebrow.

"I didn't tell Nicky I missed the pill those days until after we found out I was pregnant."

"How did he feel about that?" Charlotte asks.

"He was mad. He wanted me to have an abortion but I didn't want to. I wanted to keep the baby and now he loves the baby." Andie shakes her head. "It's weird the way things work out."

"That's why you and Nicky were broken up all those months?"

"Yep." Andie nods. "Nicky thought I had the abortion until he saw me eight months pregnant at school before Harper was born."

"Good Lord." Charlotte says to herself.

"Can I go back to bed now, momma?"

"Goodnight." Charlotte tells her daughter as she heads back to the bedroom to find Cooper fast asleep again.


	116. Chapter 116

_**CHAPTER 116**_

* * *

><p>It's early Friday evening, Andie walks in the front door carrying Harper in her infant seat. Chase and Tess are having a snack while watching a movie on the couch. "How was UCLA?" Tess asks.<p>

Andie places the bucket style infant seat down on the couch next to Tess. "It was okay. I had music theory class with Nicky this morning so that was cool."

"Who watched Harper today?" Chase unbuckles the squirmy baby from the infant seat and pulls her up into his arms.

"Nicky's mom watched her today. She's her grandmother too." Andie pulls a bottle out of the baby's bag and hands it to Chase.

Tess looks on. "Aw, she's so cute. Can I feed her?"

"Sure." Chase hands the baby to Tess.

"She kind of looks like your momma and Noah." Tess comments.

"Yeah," Andie chuckles. "All along I was wondering if she would be a redhead like me or a brunette like Nicky and it turns out she's a blonde like my momma."

Tess gently places the bottle in Harper's mouth. "Did Chase tell you Nicky gave him tickets to go see 'The Jungle Boys' concert tonight over at the pier?"

"No." Andie shakes her head.

"Yeah." Chase nods. "Spell Broken is opening up for them so Nicky gave us some VIP tickets. He gave some to Noah too."

"I wanna go too!" Andie blurts out.

"Nicky left two VIP tickets for momma and dad. I don't think they're planning on using them, ask dad if you can have his." Chase suggests.

"Or just ask Nicky." Tess adds. "He is your baby daddy. I'm sure he'd get you a ticket."

Cooper walks in the door from work. "Hello, everyone. How's my little girl doing?" He walks over to look at Harper.

"Your little girl is fine, daddy." Andie answers.

"I meant the cute one." Cooper teases. "This little one right here." Cooper rubs Harper's belly as she sucks on her bottle."

"I know who you meant, daddy. Leslie said Harper was a perfect little angel for her today."

"Of course she was." Cooper smiles at the baby.

"Hey, dad?" Andie asks.

"Yes?" Cooper puts down his man purse on the couch.

"Are you and momma planning to use those tickets Nicky gave you to see his band tonight?" Andie asks.

"No, your momma's working late. I'm sure she'll be too tired to sit through a concert with hundreds of screaming teenagers after working all day."

"Good." Andie smiles. "Then I can use your ticket."

Cooper sighs. "I don't think so, Andie Candy."

"Why not?"

"It's Friday night. You made an agreement with your momma and I that you would feed and take care of Harper on the weekends and that includes the night time feedings." Cooper reminds.

Andie looks at Cooper and nods. "Right, I did."

"I'm going to go change and then pick up Drew from his friends house. I'll see you guys later, take good care of my little munchkin." Cooper heads up the stairs.

"We will, daddy." Andie calls after him.

"Too bad you can't go to the concert tonight." Tess burps the baby.

"Who says I can't go? My dad's not using the tickets."

"What about Harper?" Chase asks.

"She can come with me. Nicky's mom gave me one of those infant snugglies. It's like a kangaroo pouch. I'll keep her in there."

"Isn't she a little young to go to a rock concert?" Tess worries. "She's only two weeks old."

"She'll be in the snuggly." Andie explains. "It says on the box that babies love them. It makes them feel like they're still in their momma's tummy." Andie runs her hand gently over Harper's soft head of blonde hair. "You're going to your first concert, baby girl."

"Won't it be too noisy for her?" Tess puts the bottle back in Harper's mouth.

"I'll keep her inside my jacket to protect her from the noise. Nobody will even know she's there."

"I wouldn't do it but she's your kid." Chase shrugs his shoulders.

"That's right." Andie takes the baby from Tess now to finish feeding her. "Come to momma, pumpkin girl."

Tess rises to her feet. "I'm going to go home to start getting ready for the concert."

"See you later." Andie tells Tess. "Can I drive with you guys?"

Tess looks at Chase. They were planning on making it a date night but now they'll have Andie and Harper tagging along, Chase shrugs.

"I guess it'll be fine." Tess tells Andie.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Cooper walks in the door with Drew. "Hi, momma." Drew runs up to Charlotte to give her a big hug.<p>

"Hey, Squirt." Charlotte hugs him back. "Where is everyone?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Chase and Noah were going to Nicky's concert down at the pier tonight" Cooper looks at his watch. "It starts in an hour."

"Where's Andie?"

"Isn't she home?" Cooper asks.

"Nope. The house was empty and quiet when I got home."

"Well, her car's in the driveway. Maybe she took Harper out for a walk." Cooper suggests.

Charlotte looks out the window. "It's almost dark. I'm going to call her."

Charlotte talks on the phone for about ten minutes before hanging up.

"So where did Andie take my munchkin?" Cooper grabs a handful of peanuts out of the bowl on the table.

Charlotte quirks one eyebrow. "She took Harper to her first rock concert down at the pier."

Cooper pops a few peanuts into his mouth. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"I'm not."

"She took a two and a half week old baby to a rock concert?"

Charlotte takes a deep breath and blows it out. "She did."

"Get your jacket. We're going down there to get Harper." Cooper instructs.

Charlotte hesitates. "I don't think that's a good idea, Coop."

"Why not?"

"Like you said the other night, Harper is Andie's responsibility. We take care of her all week while Andie's at school. Now it's Andie's turn to take care of her child."

Cooper holds his arms up questioning. "At a rock concert?"

Charlotte sits down on the couch. "I'm not crazy about it either but Harper's not in any danger."

"What if there's a stampede and she gets trampled?" Cooper makes a face after he says it. He knows himself how silly that sounded.

"Nicky gave us VIP tickets. They're in a boxed off area off to the side of the stage so they don't need to worry about being trampled." Charlotte grabs a handful of peanuts out of the dish on the table.

"Oy." Cooper plops down on the couch next to Charlotte and stuffs more peanuts in his mouth. "So, this is our life now?"

Charlotte nods her head. "We need a vacation, just the two of us."

"I second that." Cooper flips on the TV. "Where should we go?"

Charlotte grabs some more peanuts from him. "How 'bout Hawaii?"

"Last time we went to Hawaii we conceived Chase."

"It seems so long ago now that we're grandparents." Charlotte pops some peanuts into her mouth.

"Too long ago." Cooper flips through the channel. "Let's book it tomorrow but let's not conceive another baby this time." He jokes.

"Are you kidding?" Charlotte laughs. "We already have five."

Cooper responds. "Well, technically four." He pops more peanuts in his mouth. "But you're right we have five now."

"Who woulda thought?" Charlotte leans her head on Cooper's shoulder to watch television.

Drew comes running back in the room. "Did Andie take the baby with her?" Drew asks. 'She's not in her crib!"

"Yes." Cooper nods. "Harper's with Andie."

"Yay, I got you all to myself tonight!" Drew's eyes light up with excitement.

"Yes, you do, squirt," Charlotte tousles Drew's hair. "What would you like to do? It's your night."

"Heeeyyy!" Cooper playfully protests. "When's my night?"

"You're a big boy." Charlotte smirks. "Little boys first."

"Fine." Cooper pretends to pout. "What do you want to do, Squirt?"

"Can we go out for ice cream and then have family board game night?"

"We can but it's just going to be you, me and momma since everyone else went to the concert." Cooper picks up his wallet and keys.

"Sounds good to me." Drew grabs one of Charlotte's hands and one of Cooper's before waking out the door for ice cream.

* * *

><p>Andie sits in the VIP area with Tess and Chase while they wait for the concert to begin. There are about twenty-five people in the VIP seating area. Cody's brother and his friends are there along with Suzie and Cole Jr and some of the other band members family and friends. Noah walks in with Marley, Dylan and Lila.<p>

"Cool seats." Dylan looks around. "Can't get any better that this."

"Narley." Lila approves.

Noah scrunches up his nose. "What are you doing here, Andie? Why aren't you home with Harper?"

"Harper's right here." Andie opens up her long black sweater to show Noah and his friends the newborn baby sleeping in her snuggly pouch."

"That's wicked." Lila looks at the baby. "It's kinda like you're still pregnant with a pouch in the front."

Andie nods. "Harper loves it. She's sleeping like a baby."

Lila pulls out a joint and starts to light it. Chase gives her a disapproving look which Noah catches.

"Not here, Lila. My baby neice is sleeping right over there." Noah complains.

"She's a baby. She has no clue what I'm smoking." Lila responds.

"It's not that. I mean she shouldn't be inhaling the smoke." Noah answers.

"Well, the baby shouldn't be here." Lila tells Noah. "It's a rock concert. I'm not going to be the only one smoking it."

"It's okay." Andie tells them. "I have Harper wrapped up under my sweater. She won't inhale it."

"It's not okay." Chase tells Lila. "If you're going to smoke that then smoke it outside of the VIP booth. _I_ don't want to inhale it."

"Who died and left you in charge?" Lila asks Chase.

Dylan gets involved. "Come on, Lila. Let's go smoke it outside then we'll come back."

Lila grumbles as she follows Dylan out of the VIP area.

Broken Spell runs up on stage while the crowd screams for them. "There's Nicky!" Marley shouts out. "Wow! Does he ever look hot tonight?"

Nicky's straight dark hair is cut short in the back with longer strands framing his face in the front. He's wearing a black leather jacket and black t-shirt with washed out jeans.

"He looks like a real rocker now." Tess rises to her feet and claps for Broken Spell.

The band begins to play the first song while the crowd sings along. "I never heard this song before." Tess tells Andie. "Do you know it?"

"Nicky wrote it. They're singing their own songs now that they're opening for The Jungle Boys." Andie tells her.

"I guess they have to." Chase adds. "It wouldn't be cool if they got on stage and sang other bands songs."

Suzie tells them. "Nicky and his band wrote most of the songs they sing in concert. The fans love them. They played them when they toured the east coast this summer so the fans know them already."

Andie joins in. "I haven't heard Nicky's band play any of their new songs yet. This song is awesome." Andie dances while the baby sleeps against her in the snuggly.

After Broken Spell's finishes performing for the night a security guard comes to take everyone in the VIP booth backstage to see the band. Andie follows along with Chase, Tess and everyone else. Once backstage they all congratulate the band. Andie's standing at the back of the crowd. She pushes her way forward to give Nicky a big hug. "Congrats! You were awesome!"

Nicky's surprised to see her. "Wow!" He hugs Andie. "I didn't think you were here. Where's Harper?"

Andie opens up her sweater. Nicky's eyes pop wide open. "You brought her here?"

"She wanted to see her daddy perform." Andie chuckles.

Nicky takes off Andie's sweater and then the snuggly. He pulls a sleepy Harper out of the pouch.

"Is that your baby, Nick?" A band member asks.

Nicky cradles his two week old daughter. "This is Harper Ava Poulos, my daughter." The band members and their friends gather around Nicky to look at the baby.

"Congratulations, Poulos." Cody pats Nicky on the back. "She's awesome."

Nicky smirks. "Yeah, well, Andie did all the hard work. I had the fun part."

"Ain't that grande!" One of the male band members shouts out. "It's good to be a man!"

"Hey!" Jodie, the female band member, slaps his arm. "Can I hold her?" Jodie asks Nicky.

"Not tonight. She's only two weeks old I don't want to pass her around in case of germs and stuff."

"Well aren't you a protective daddy already?" Jodie pats Nicky on the back. "Congrats!"

The Jungle Boys take the stage now and the crowd disperses back to the VIP box to watch them. "Where are you going?" Nicky asks Andie.

Andie turns around. "To go watch the Jungle Boys."

"Stay here with me and Harper. There's a quiet room we can hang out in and feed her."

"Okay." Andie follows Nicky into a back stage dressing room. She pulls a bottle out of her sweater pocket and hands it to Nicky.

"I'm surprised your parents let you bring Harper to the concert."

"I just sorta took her." Andie smiles.

"Ah. I didn't think they would want her to come here."

"She's my baby." Andie answers.

"Our baby. Nicky corrects.

"Our baby." Andie smiles.

Nicky feeds the baby her bottle. "Do you want to come home with me and stay at the cottage tonight?"

"I can't. My parents do the nightime feedings during the week since I have school. I have to give them a break on the weekends and do the night feedings."

"Stay at my cottage. I'll do the nightime feedings."

"Where will Harper sleep? You don't have a crib."

Nicky laughs. "You haven't been to my place in a while. My mom set Harper up. She bought a bassinet, a high chair and all sorts of baby stuff so Harper can spend time at my place. We just need to pick her up some formula and diapers on the way home."

Andie curls up her lip. "I can't have sex yet. You have to wait until six weeks after you have a baby to have sex again." Andie explains.

"I don't want to have sex with you."

"Why not?" Andie gets defensive now. "Do you think I'm gross because you saw a baby's head pop out of me?"

"No!" Nicky screws up his face.

"Then why?" Andie asks. "Do you think I'm fat because it's only been two weeks? All women are still fat two weeks after giving birth. It takes at least six weeks for everything to shrink back down to size."

Nicky laughs now. "I don't think you're fat."

"Then what?"

Nicky explains. "Andie, we were broken up for nearly a year. I think we have some things to talk about before we rush into anything."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"About us and me, my career, about Harper."

"Are you going to break up with me again?"

"No, I want things to work out but we need to talk."

"Okay, fine. I'll stay at your place tonight."


	117. Chapter 117

_**CHAPTER 117**_

* * *

><p>It's three am, Nicky just finished feeding his newborn daughter her bottle. He sings her back to sleep with a soft lullaby. Andie's sleeping peacefully in the bedroom. After Nicky's sure the baby's asleep he puts her down in her bassinet. He presses a soft kiss on her head and climbs back in bed. He wraps his arm around Andie pulling her tight against him, spooning her. Andie opens her eyes and turns over to look at him. "Don't worry." He smiles. I'm not trying to have sex with you. I just want to hold you like old times."<p>

"I know. It feels good." Andie gives him a little smile. "And trust me I'm still sore from pushing that baby out. I'm in no mood for sex."

Nicky scowls. "Ouch! Yeah, You must be hurting."

"I feel a little better every day."

"I'm glad I'm not a woman." Nicky smirks.

"I'm glad you're not a woman either." They both laugh. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Andie asks. "We might as well talk since we're awake and we can't have sex."

Nicky looks into Andie's eyes. "I want things to work out for us, Belle. I really do and not just for Harper but because I love you."

"I love you too, Nick." Andie grasps Nicky's hand and intertwines her fingers with his.

"But sometimes love's not enough." Nicky's still looking her in the eyes.

Andie swallows. "What do you mean?"

"I need to trust you, Andie, and right now I'm having a problem with that part."

Andie feels tears start to come to her eyes. "Why? Because I didn't tell you I went off the pill? I thought we were past that?"

"I'm having trouble trusting you because you let me think you had an abortion. You never told me you were still pregnant until I saw you at UCLA. You were eight months pregnant with my baby and in labor when I found out. When were you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't. I was going to give her up and not tell anyone."

"Can't you see how wrong that is?" Nicky stares into her eyes.

Andie wipes a tear away. "I was scared out of my mind. You ordered me to have an abortion. I knew you didn't want the baby. I was afraid my parents would be disappointed in me. My momma's a damn sexologist. How does that look for her if her teenage daughter is pregnant in high school? I didn't want to do that to her and I realized later on that I wasn't ready to be a momma. So I decided to give her up and not tell anyone." Andie sniffles. "My bad."

Nicky takes a deep breath and blows it out. "It's not all your fault. I was an ass to demand you have an abortion, but I love that little girl more than anything in the world. I have no words for it."

"How was I supposed to know you were going to do an about face and change your mind about the baby?"

"You couldn't know that. I didn't even know that." Nicky squeezes her arm.

"Do you forgive me?" Andie asks, wiping another tear away.

"I want to Belle. I really want to but you have to promise you'll never lie to me or keep secrets again."

Andie squeezes Nicky's hand. She sniffles. "I promise. I don't want to lose you again."

It's Nicky's turn to swallow now. "Since we're being completely honest I need to tell you something."

"What?" Andie's eyes widen.

"This summer while you were in Europe I had a girlfriend."

Andie sits up in bed and stares at him.

Nicky continues. "Her name is Nina. I hired her to replace Kevin on the keyboards. Kevin has a drug problem, he wasn't showing up on time for practice or rehearsals. I needed to find a keyboard player that knew our band and could play with us for the east coast tour while we opened for The Jungle Boys. I worked very close with Nina teaching her our songs before we left for the tour." Nicky adds. "And _we_ ended up becoming even closer over the summer."

"Do you love her?"

Nicky rubs his hand across his head. "I don't know. I thought I did when I was with her over the summer. I was tired of you giving me the run around. I wanted to move on. You didn't tell me you were pregnant with Harper Ava. I love you, Belle. I'm sorry."

"Did you sleep with her?"

"Uhm…yeah. She toured with the band. We shared a room all summer."

Andie sighs deeply. "Did you use condoms?"

"You better believe it. I wasn't about to knock her up even though she told me she was on the pill, we used condoms every time."

Andie sniffles. "She must think you're neurotic."

"She did until I told her what happened with us. She understood why I insisted on using condoms after I told her our story."

"You told her about us?"

"Yep." Nicky nods.

"You must have been pretty tight with her if you told her our personal stuff."

"I told you I thought I was in love with her."

"Was she at the concert tonight?"

"She was the chick on the keyboards. Kevin still doesn't have his shit together. He's still in rehab. Nina's been playing keyboards for my band now."

Andie thinks. "She was in the back of the stage on the left side, right?"

"Yeah… She's a little taller than you are with long brown shiny hair. She was on the keyboards, wearing jeans and a brown leather jacket."

"Okay, I saw her up there. I thought maybe Kevin was out sick for the night. I didn't know she replaced him, she's pretty."

"Uh…Huh." Nicky nods.

"Are things over between the two of you?"

"Uhm…Yeah. ..after I told her you never had the abortion. I told her how I was there for Harper Ava's birth in your bedroom. I talked her ear off about how beautiful Harper Ava is. I guess it was too much for her to deal with, she broke it off."

"So, she broke it off with you?"

"I probably would have broken up with her if she didn't do it first."

"Probably? That's not good enough, Nicky."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Andie? We were broken up for six months before I started dating Nina. I apologized to you, I sent you flowers, I took you out to dinner. I did everything I could think of to get you back and you kept pushing me away. So, I met a girl and moved on. You can't possibly be mad at me for that."

Andie cries. "I'm not mad at you... I'm mad at me...I'm sorry I lied!" Andie has tears streaming down her face. "I was scared! I screwed up!"

"Okay. I understand that."

Andie sobs. "I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how to make you not love that other girl. I don't know how to get my parents trust back. Everything is broken now and I can't fix it." Andie gets off the bed and sits in the floor in the corner of the room. She sits with her knees bent up and puts her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Nicky gets down on the floor next to her. "I love you, Belle. I told you that." He rubs her back.

"But you said you might love Nina too. I don't want you to love both of us. I just want you to love me."

Nicky hugs Andie. "I do love you. You're Harper Ava's momma and believe me Nina doesn't want to be with me after this."

"But she's in your band. You're still going to see her whenever you practice or do a show, which is at least three times a week."

"I don't know what to say." Nicky wipes Andie's tears. "I can't fire her over this. Maybe she'll quit on her own and then I'll have to find another keyboard player again which really sucks because Nina has all our songs down now."

Harper starts to cry.

"Oh no." Andie wipes her nose. "We woke the baby up." Andie rises to her feet, she walks over to the bassinet and picks Harper up. Andie pads back and forth across the bedroom pacing with Harper in her arms. "It's okay, baby. Momma's got you." Andie pats the infant on the back as she paces with her. The baby continues to cry along with Andie. "I screwed everyone's life up including this baby's." Andie tells Nicky as she paces briskly back and forth in front of him.

"She's two and a half weeks old, Belle, she has an amazing life ahead of her. I'm going to see to that." Nicky watches Andie pace back and forth with the baby in her arms.

The baby screams louder, making Andie nervous. "Why won't she stop crying? You just fed her, she's dry. I don't know what's wrong with her." Andie's voice is filled with desperation. "Walking with her usually works for my dad whenever Harper cries and we don't know why. She calms down for my dad. Why won't she calm down for me?"

"Let me try." Nicky gets up and takes the baby from Andie. "Shhh…Shhh…Shhh." He blows softly on the baby's head while he holds her over his shoulder and gently rubs the baby's back. He sings a soft lullaby and walks around the cottage with a bounce to his step. After two more minutes of Nicky walking and singing to her, Harper starts to settle down and after another minute she stops crying completely. Nicky sits down on the bed with her and continues to sing, quietly and softly. The baby opens and closes her eyes a few times, until she finally falls back to sleep. "See, Belle. That's all you have to do. You just have to be calm with her so she feels safe."

"She loves you." Andie tells Nicky with tears streaming down her face. "She hates me, I'm a horrible mother, she hates me." Andie gets up from the bed and throws her sweater on over her clothes.

"What are you doing, Belle?"

"I'm leaving." Andie grabs her purse.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know." Andie grabs Nicky's keys off the table and heads for the door.

Nicky gently places the baby back down in her bassinet and tries to run after Andie. He opens the door and watches her skid out of the driveway, screetching the tires of his car as she speeds away. He has a bad feeling but he can't go after her, she took his only car and Harper's asleep in the bassinet. He doesn't know what else to do so he picks up his phone. He looks at the clock as he makes the call. It's almost five am.

"Hello." Charlotte answers in a sleepy voice.


	118. Chapter 118

**_CHAPTER 118_**

* * *

><p>It's five in the morning, Andie's driving Nicky's car. She pulls onto the Freeway. She has no idea where she's going. She wipes some tears away while she drives. She can't stop the waterworks from falling as hard as she tries. She thinks about how she disappointed her parents. She thinks her momma must be embarrassed to give safe sex lectures knowing her own daughter didn't take her advice and let herself get knocked up. She sniffles and wipes more tears away. She imagines Nicky spending the summer with that pretty girl, Nina. She wonders if Nicky would probably be better off with Nina than someone like her. She worries about Harper screaming in her arms but quieting down for Nicky. Andie tries to shake the negative thoughts away. "I can't do anything right." She cries to herself and sniffles again. He eyes are cloudy from the tears and the next thing she knows the car is hopping a curb. She panics and tries to slam the brakes but she hits the gas instead in her frenzy. "SMACK! BAM" She hits the median in the middle of the Freeway.<p>

* * *

><p>Charlotte hangs up the phone.<p>

"Who was that?" Cooper asks.

"It was Nicky. Andie and Harper were spending the night there. Andie got upset because the baby wouldn't stop crying for her, Nicky was able to calm her down. He said Andie said something about being a horrible mother. She grabbed Nicky's car keys and ran out of the cottage."

"Where's Harper?"

"She's with Nicky." Charlotte answers. "And since Andie took Nicky's car he couldn't go after her."

"It's better if he stays home with the baby. I'll call Andie and see where she is." Cooper picks up his phone from the bedside table.

Cooper gets no answer.

"Well?" Charlotte asks.

"I got her voicemail."

"You should have left a message." Charlotte gets out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Cooper asks.

"To make some coffee." Charlotte puts her robe on. "How can I go back to sleep after that phone call."

"I'm right behind you." Cooper pulls a t-shirt and jeans on before following Charlotte downstairs.

Cooper takes a piece of chocolate cake out of the fridge while Charlotte makes coffee.

"It's five in the mornin', Coop, you shouldn't be eating that."

Cooper talks with his mouth full . "You know that I'm a stress eater, I'm stressed."

Charlotte pours her coffee. "Why wouldn't she answer the phone?"

"She's driving, she's stressed, she's not in the mood to talk to anyone." He shovels his chocolate cake in his mouth with his fork.

"Try callin' her again, if we call her enough times she'll have to pick up the phone."

"Char?"

"I'm not gonna rest until I know she's okay, Coop."

Cooper finishes his cake and pads back up to the bedroom, he picks up his phone and hits the button for Andie's number.

A police officer answers the phone. "Hello. This is officer Kennis."

Cooper feels his heart drop into his stomach. "Uhm… There must be some mistake. I was trying to call my daughter."

"What's your daughter's name, sir?" The officer asks.

Cooper takes a breath. "Andie Freedman. I mean Alexandria Freedman. Her name is Alexandria Freedman. She's eighteen. She has red hair." Cooper rambles on.

"I'm sorry to inform you, sir, but your daughter was involved in an automobile accident tonight. I'm at the scene waiting for them to tow the car off the highway."

Cooper's heart jumps. "Is she okay… Is she alive?"

"Yes." The officer answers. "Her car hit the median. It looks like she took a nasty blow to the head. She was unconscious when we arrived."

"Uh...uh..." A flustered Cooper rubs his hand over his face and asks. "Where is she?" Where is my daughter now?"

"The ambulance is just getting ready to leave the scene now to take her to the hospital."

"What hospital?" Cooper asks.

"St. Catherine's is the closest."

"I'm on my way." Cooper hangs up the phone. "Andie was in an accident." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"How bad?" Charlotte feels her heart start to race.

"She's unconscious. She has a head injury." Cooper slips his shoes on.

"What hospital?"

"The police officer said they were taking her to St. Catherine's."

Charlotte shakes her head as she pulls on her jeans. "Damn kids. I swear they're gonna to put me in the grave before my time." Charlotte wipes away a tear and pulls her shoes on.

Cooper pats her back to offer comfort, he knows she's just as scared as he is.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper arrive in the ER at St Catherine's. Cooper runs in the door. "We're looking for our daughter. She's eighteen, she was in an automobile accident. Her name's Alexandria Freedman!" Cooper yells out.<p>

"The doctors are with her now." A nurse tells him.

"We're both doctor's." Charlotte flashes her badge from St Ambrose. "Which room is she in?"

"Across the hall in room 5." The nurse points.

Charlotte and Cooper burst into the room.

"Who are you?" An ER doctor looks up at them.

"I'm Dr. Cooper Freedman. This is my wife Dr. King. We're Alexandria's parents. How is she?" Cooper's out of breath from running.

"We're both doctors." Charlotte flashes her badge at the staff in the room and tells them even though Cooper already announced them as doctors.

"She's unconcious." The doctor tells Charlotte, "Her pupils are equal and reactive. We're sending her down to radiology now for a CT Scan."

"She has epilepsy." Charlotte tells the doctor. "We keep her seizures under control with Tegretol."

"Thank you." The doctor tells Charlotte. "That's important. Why doesn't she wear a med alert bracelet?"

Cooper screws up his face. "She's a teenager. Is she going to be okay?" Cooper asks.

"I need to look at the results of the CT scan before I can answer your questions." The doctor tells them.

"Does she have any other injuries?" Charlotte asks.

"Nothing besides a few abrasions. She's lucky she had her seat belt on. She hit her head on the steering wheel pretty hard."

The other doctors and nurse wheel Andie to radiology for her CT scan.

Charlotte's phone rings. It's a frazzled Nicky. "I called Andie's phone and a cop answered. She was in an accident."

"We know, Nicky. We're at the hospital with her now." Charlotte breathes into the phone. "How's Harper?"

"She's sleeping. How's Andie? Is it serious? Is she okay?" Nicky pleads from the other end of the phone.

"We're at St. Catherine's. She's unconscious. They're doing a CT scan now." Charlotte explains.

"But will she be okay?"

"We hope." Charlotte sits down in a waiting room chair while Cooper rubs her knee. "What happened, Nicky? Did you and Andie have a fight?"

"No." Nicky answers. "We were talking. She was really upset. She felt like she ruined everyone's life. She was upset that you and Dr. Freedman were embarrased of her for getting pregnant. She was upset for lying to me all these months about the pregnancy. Then Harper woke up crying. Andie couldn't get her to stop but Harper settled down for me. Andie said Harper hated her and that she was a horrible mother. She grabbed my keys and ran out the door crying. I couldn't go after her because I have the baby here and Andie took my car. I'm so sorry, Dr. King."

"It's not your fault, Nicky, just take care of my grandaughter and we'll keep you posted on Andie." Charlotte hangs up.

"Why was she staying at his place last night?" Cooper rubs his head. "She shouldn't have gone to that concert. She should have stayed home."

"We don't need a Monday morning quarterback, Coop. Nicky says she was upset she couldn't get Harper to stop crying and she told Nicky that we were embarrassed of her for getting pregnant."

"She told him that?" Cooper looks at Charlotte with big sad eyes.

Charlotte sighs. "Uh-huh."

"I'm not embarrassed of her, disappointed, yes, but I think we have the right to be considering we prepared her, we talked to her about birth control, well, you did. We have a right to be disappointed." Cooper sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

Charlotte grabs Cooper's hand. "We do have the right to be disappointed but we need to get over it. Harper's here and we love her. We need to let go of the disappointment so Andie can move on and not feel guilty about it."

Cooper takes a deep breath and lets it out. He shakes his head. "We better get the chance." Cooper starts to cry. "She's my Andie Candy. She's my baby girl. Tell me she's going to be okay, Char."

Charlotte grabs Cooper in and hugs him tight. She tries not to let him know she's as scared as he is. The doctor walks over to them. "Excuse me." He says.

Charlotte and Cooper look up at him with wet red eyes.

"The CT is done. I looked at it myself. Your daughter has a small hematoma. It doesn't require surgery. It should reabsorb on it's own."

Charlotte wipes the tears off her face. "That's a relief."

"She's awake now. She started to wake up during the CT scan. We told her you were here."

"Can we see her?" Charlotte sniffles.

"I'll show you the way." The doctor escorts them down the hall.

Charlotte and Cooper walk in Andie's room. They see her with her eyes open. Charlotte rushes over to her to give her a big hug followed by Cooper. The three of them stay in a family bear hug for about two minutes before Andie says. "I'm sorry for everything. I know I've been a horrible daughter and a horrible mother to Harper but I'm gonna change that."

"It's okay, Sweet Pea," Charlotte sniffles. "This past year had to be torture for you, hiding the pregnancy from all of us and feeling like you let us down. Your father and I love you. We could never be embarrassed of you."

"You talked to Nicky?" Andie asks.

"He's worried about you. We told him to stay home with Harper, you should call him and let him know you're okay."

"I will, momma but I have an excruciating headache right now."

Cooper's able to smile at his daughter now. "You took a a big blow to your noggin. It's going to hurt for a little while."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, daddy."

Cooper sits next to Andie on the bed. "The most important thing is that you're alive and you're going to be okay." Cooper tweaks Andie's nose. "You gave your mother and I quite a scare. Nothing else matters as long as you're okay."

"Thank God Harper wasn't in the car with you." Charlotte sighs.

Andie looks up at Charlotte. "You really love her don't you, momma?"

"Of course I do. She's a mini-me." Charlotte gives Andie a sly smile.

"Aha." Cooper says. "That little girl's gonna be a tough one." Cooper warns Andie. "Show her who's boss from the start." Cooper teases Andie. "That's what I had to do with your momma when I first met her."

"Excuse me?" Charlotte quirks an eyebrow at Cooper before turning to Andie with an evil grin. "I let him think he's the boss. It works."

Andie laughs. "You guys are the best. I'm lucky to have you. A lot of parents wouldn't be so cool about this whole thing."

Charlotte plays with a lock of Andie's red hair. "And Harper's going to be lucky to have you as her momma. You'll learn just like I learned. I made mistakes too and mostly on you since you were my first."

Andie screws up her face. "Like what?"

Cooper smirks. "Let's see...There was the time she dropped you on your head and the time she drove away with you on the roof of the car and..."

"Momma?" Andie's jaw drops.

Cooper laughs. "I'm kidding with you, but you did pave the way and make things easier for your brothers."

"So, Harper's the guinea pig first child like I was?

Charlotte shrugs "All mommas learn on their firstborns."

"Experience is the best teacher, Andie Candy, nobody expects you to be a super momma." Cooper snickers at himself. Truth be told, he's relieved to have a second chance with his daughter.

Charlotte offers her daughter advice. "You're a new momma to Harper just like I was a new momma to you, you're going to make mistakes and you're going to feel guilty about them but you learn from it."

Andie tells them. "I don't wanna screw Harper up, I just want her to feel safe and happy."

"That's the same way your momma and I feel about you." Cooper gives Andie a wink.

Andie sighs and smiles at them.


	119. Chapter 119

_**CHAPTER 119**_

* * *

><p>It's ten am Saturday morning. Charlotte and Cooper are waiting outside of Andie's hospital room at St. Catherine's while a doctor checks on Andie. Charlotte hangs up her mobile phone. "Chase and the boys were still asleep." Charlotte tells Cooper.<p>

"Not surprising. It's a Saturday." Cooper shrugs.

"I told Chase to give the boys breakfast."

"What did you say about Andie?"

"Just that she was in an accident and she's going to be okay. I didn't give him all the details." Charlotte leans up against the wall.

Cooper sighs. "We were going to book our trip to Hawaii today. What if something like this happened while we were so far away?"

"I don't know." Charlotte shakes her head. "We'd have to fly home."

The doctor comes out of the room and shakes Charlotte and Cooper's hand. "How's Andie?" Charlotte asks.

"She has a headache but that's expected with a hematoma as you know. Other than that her neurochecks were normal. She's a very lucky young lady."

"When will you discharge her?" Cooper asks.

"We need to watch the hematoma. We'll keep her here today, then do another CT tomorrow morning as long as the hematoma is healing we may send her home tomorrow or the next day."

"Thank you." Charlotte smiles at the doctor. "After the doctor leaves Charlotte tells Cooper. "Looks like Andie's spending her weekend in the hospital."

Cooper nods his head. "Which means we have Harper duty again."

Nicky walks down the hall toward them pushing Harper in a stroller. His mother is at his side. "How's Andie?" Nicky asks.

"She has a headache but other than that she got lucky." Cooper tells him.

Charlotte picks Harper up out of her stroller and gives the baby a soft kiss on the head. "How's my baby?" Charlotte talks to the infant.

"Can I see Andie?" Nicky asks.

Charlotte nods. "The doctor just came out so I suppose you can go in. We'll go downstairs to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast while you visit with her."

"Great." Nicky walks in Andie's room.

Andie's sitting up in bed. She smiles at Nicky. "Hi."

"Hi." He smiles back before saying. "Why'd you do that? You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry."

"How are you feeling?"

"I have a wicked headache. The doctors say I have a small blood clot on my brain from hitting my head on the steering wheel, so it's to be expected."

Nicky sits down in the chair next to the bed. "We're lucky you weren't killed. Harper's not even three weeks old. It would be unthinkable if she never knew her mother."

Andie shakes her head. "I've been a horrible mother to Harper but I'm going to be better. At least I'm going to try to be. You're so good with her, it makes me feel lame."

"You just need to stay calm, Belle, that's the trick. She didn't stop crying for you last night because you were tense when you were walking with her. You were patting her back too fast and hard. She was picking up on your tension."

Andie sighs. "I'm gonna try to be better. I'm gonna be a better mother, a better daughter, a better girlfriend, everything. I've screwed up so bad but I'm going to change."

Nicky pinches her nose. "Don't change too much, Belle. I love you just the way you are."

"You're not going to break out into a Billy Joel song now are you?" Andie snickers.

"Do you want me to?" Nicky starts humming the song before he starts "~~~_Don't go changin' ...to try and please me...you never let me down... before...Mm..Hmmm~~~"_

Andie smacks his harm, playfully. "The nurses might walk in and think we're corny if they hear you singing to me."

"That's what you get for dating a lead singer." Nicky laughs before he continues. ~~~ "_I would not leave you... in times of trouble... We never could have come this far...mmhmmh... I took the good times...I'll take the bad times...I'll take you just the way you arrrrrre.~~~"_

A nurse walks in.

Andie's face turns red with embarrassment. "I'll come back to check you in a few minutes." The nurse smiles at Andie before she tells Nicky. "Nice voice, you need to sing to all our patients and cheer them up." The nurse leaves the room.

"I told you they would hear you." Andie tells Nicky.

"There's nothing wrong with singing. You heard the nurse, it cheers patients up."

Andie chuckles. "I'm cheered up enough, just to have you here." Andie grabs Nicky's hand again. "I'm sorry for lying. I should have just been honest and told you I didn't have the abortion. Then maybe we would have worked things out earlier and you wouldn't have got so close to Nina."

"Is that what this is about? Nina?" Nicky asks. "Is that why you ran out of the cottage crying?"

"It's about everything I screwed up this past year. It's about Harper, my parents, Nina, you, everything."

"I love you, Belle. I'm not seeing Nina anymore." Nicky tries to reassure Andie.

"Okay." Andie nods. She'll accept it for now. "How's your car?"

"The cops told me it's totaled."

"I totaled your car?"

"Yep." Nicky nods.

"I'm sorry. You can use my car until you get another one. I'll see if my parents can loan us some money for a new car and I'll pay them back."

"Don't worry about the car. The most important thing is that you're alive."

Andie gives Nicky a twisted smile.

"Did that sound corny?" He asks.

"Even cornier than you singing to me in my hospital room." Andie chuckles. "It sounded like something my parents would say."

Nicky rubs his head. "I guess I'm thinking like a parent now that I am one." He scrunches up his nose. "That's bad, right?"

"Yeah."Andie laughs. "Cuz you're not my parent. You're my hot dude."

"I like being your dude." Nicky holds Andie's hand.

"I like it too." Andie squeezes his hand.

Nicky smirks before he starts singing again. "~~~_I said I love you... and that's forever...this I promise from the heart..."_

Andie rolls her eyes but she really loves it.

Nicky laughs, he know she's pretending to be annoyed by rolling her eyes. He knows she really loves it. All the girls love it when he sings to them. He laughs as he continues "~~~_I couldn't love _

_you... any better."_

Charlotte and Cooper walk back in the room. Andie looks up at them, now she clearly is embarrassed. Nicky's back is to the door so he keeps singing. "~~~_I love you just the way you ...arrrre, Belle."_

Andie looks at her parents. Charlotte's smiling and Cooper has his goofy grin on. Now, Andie really does want to crawl under the bed.

* * *

><p>Drew comes downstairs and runs into the kitchen. Chase is flipping pancakes. "Where's daddy?" Drew asks. "Why are you making pancakes?"<p>

"Andie was in a car accident last night but she's fine." Chase hands Drew a plate with a chocolate chip pancake. He notices Drew has a terrified expression on his face. "Andie's okay, squirt. Momma said she just bumped her head but she's going to be fine."

Drew sits at the table at stares at the pancakes, tears are brewing in his eyes.

"I can't believe Noah is still asleep." Chase tells Drew as he sits down at the table next to him. "Hey!" Chase says, "why aren't you eating? My pancakes are better than dad's. I put twice as many chocolate chips in them as dad does."

"I'm not hungry." Drew answers, quietly while pushing his plate away.

"Since when do you turn down chocolate chip pancakes with double the chips?" Chase reaches over to feel Drew's forehead. "Are you sick, Squirt?"

Drew shakes his head and starts to cry. "I'm a really bad kid, Chase. I wished it to happen."

"What did you wish to happen?"

"I wished something bad would happen to Harper and now it did. I'm sorry." Drew cries. "I didn't really mean it. I'm sorry."

"Chillax, Squirt. Nothing bad happened to Harper." Chase looks at Drew, confused.

"But you said Andie was in the hospital because she bumped her head in a car accident."

"Yeah." Chase nods. "She did."

"But wasn't Harper in the car accident too?" Drew asks. "She's a tiny baby, she probably got killed in the crash." Drew sniffles.

"No, Harper wasn't in the accident. She was at the cottage with Nicky." Chase cuts up his pancakes.

"Really?" Drew asks, hopeful. "Harper is really okay?"

"Yeah, little dude. I wouldn't lie to you."

Drew breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm never going to wish anything bad about her again." Drew pours syrup on his pancakes now.

"Why were you wishing bad things to happen to her?" Chase asks. "She's a baby, she never did anything to you."

"She took momma and daddy away from me because she's the smallest and cutest one in the house now." Drew confides in Chase. "So, I secretly didn't like her."

"Momma and daddy took you out for ice cream last night and played board games with you until you fell asleep at the table. Momma told me they had to carry you upstairs to bed."

"Yeah, " Drew answers. "I had fun with momma and daddy but that's only cuz Harper wasn't home, if Harper was home they would be holding and feeding her."

"That's part of growing up, Drew. You're six, you're not a baby anymore besides you're the lucky one."

"Why?"

"I was only one and a half years old when Noah was born, I never got momma and dad to myself, then Noah was eight when you bumped him out of the youngest child position. Momma and daddy brought you home from the hospital, they held and fed you all the time."

"Hmm..." Drew asks Chase. "I wonder if Noah wished anything bad would happen to me or if he secretly hated me?"

"I don't think so." Chase tells him.

"Why?"

"Noah was happy that you kept momma and dad busy so he could have extra time on his video games or sneak extra cookies out of the kitchen. Momma and daddy were so busy with you that we could get away with little things like that. Andie was twelve, she would sneak over to Nicky's house and watch his band practice in the garage."

"Oh?" Drew thinks.

"There's advantages and disadvantages to everything, Drew." Chase eats his pancakes. "You have to look for the good things about having Harper around instead on focusing on the bad."

"Yeah." Drew thinks while he eats his pancakes. He tilts his head as he thinks. "She is kinda cute for a baby."

"Yeah, she is." Chase tousles Drew's hair.


	120. Chapter 120

_**CHAPTER 120**_

* * *

><p>It's Sunday afternoon, Charlotte and Cooper drive Andie home from the hospital. "Okay, so you heard the doctor. He wants you to rest for today and tomorrow." Cooper reminds Andie as they enter the house.<p>

"But I have classes tomorrow at UCLA. I can't afford to miss anymore since I missed a few after Harper was born." Andie worries.

"Missing one more day won't kill ya'." Charlotte advices. "You can ask Tyler or Nicky to talk to your professors, maybe they could record your classes for you."

"I guess." Andie grimaces as she sits down on the couch. Her head still hurts.

"See." Charlotte hands Andie a glass or water along with her seizure medication. "How can you go to school feeling like that?"

"Thanks momma." Andie takes her seizure medication and a sip of water. "When is Nicky supposed to come by with Harper?"

"He should be here any minute." Cooper looks at his watch. "He has band practice this afternoon. He was going to drop her off on the way there."

"Oh." Andie's face falls a little. She knows Nina will be at band practice too. She wishes she could tag along to keep an eye on things but she can't. She needs to rest today.

"What else can I get you, Sweet Pea?" Charlotte hands Andie the remote.

"Nothing." Andie flips the tv on. "Where is everyone?"

Cooper tells his daughter. "We cleared the house out so you can rest. Amelia took Drew to the park with Sarah. Noah's hanging out at Marley's today and I don't know where Chase and Tess went for the afternoon."

"Thanks." Andie channel surfs looking for something interesting to watch on tv.

"And don't worry. We'll take care of Harper for you this afternoon." Charlotte reminds.

Andie sips her water. "I'll take care of her today, momma. She's mine."

"We know that, Sweet Pea, but the doctor wants you to rest. We'll take care of the peanut today." Charlotte sits next to Andie on the couch. Truth is Charlotte doesn't mind taking care of the little peanut.

The doorbell rings. "Speak of the devil. That must be Nicky now." Cooper answers the door. "Hello." He greets Nicky. Harper's in her bucket infant seat. "How's my little girl doing today?" Cooper greets Harper with a smile and carries her into the house. Nicky follows with her diaper bag.

"She had a pretty good night." Nicky tells them. She woke up twice during the night to eat but she went right back to sleep both times after I fed her. She's a good kid."

"You're probably exhausted?" Charlotte asks Nicky. She gets up to help Cooper take Harper out of her infant seat.

"Nah." Nicky tells her. "I'm used to being up late and not getting much sleep with the band. I'll catch up on sleep later."

"Aren't you opening for the Jungle boys at the Pier again tonight?" Cooper asks. "I heard it was their last show in LA."

"It is and I am opening for them. But I'll sleep when I get home."

"And you have band practice now?"

"Yep, we'll be practicing and tuning up the rest of the day before we do the concert." Nicky tells them.

"You're a busy man." Cooper pats Nicky on the back. Cooper isn't the least bit thrilled with Nicky for knocking up his teenage daughter but he is impressed at how good Nicky is with Harper.

"Hey Belle." Nicky walks over to the couch."How are you feeling?"

Andie's eyes are sad thinking about how Nicky will be spending the whole day around Nina. "My head still hurts."

Charlotte asks Nicky. "Do you think you can have the professors record Andie's classes for her tomorrow if we give you something to record them with."

"No problem." Nicky shrugs. "I have high tech recording equipment I use for the band so I'll just use that."

"It needs to be small, pocket size." Charlotte tells him.

"Yeah. I have that. I use it to listen to our jam sessions after we're done. I need to hear any glitches so it's real high tech. Andie won't miss a thing said in class."

"Good then." Charlotte smiles. She holds a sleeping Harper in her arms. "They're so precious at this age."

"Don't get any thoughts about having another one." Cooper jokes. "I don't want to bring you home from Hawaii pregnant."

Andie rolls her eyes at the thought.

"You guys are going to Hawaii?" Nicky asks.

"We were planning on it." Charlotte says. "We're putting it on hold for now because of Andie's accident."

"Why?" Andie asks. "Don't put it on hold for me. "The doctor said I only need to rest for two more days. You can still go to Hawaii."

Cooper shakes his head. "It got us thinking about what would happen if there was an emergency and we were so far away."

Andie shakes her head. "Another thing I ruined for you." She grumbles to herself.

"What did you say?" Cooper asks.

"Nothing." Andie answers.

Nicky looks at the time on his watch. "I better get going. The band is going to think I'm a no show." Nicky gives Andie a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He walks over to Charlotte who's holding Harper. "Goodbye, little princess." He kisses the top of Harper's head. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Charlotte carries Harper to the door to walk Nicky out. "He's a good father." Charlotte turns around to tell Cooper and Andie after Nicky leaves.

"At least there's one good thing about him." Cooper responds.

"Daddy?" Andie defends. "There's a lot of good things about Nicky. You need to get to know him better."

"No thanks." Cooper scoffs. "I know him well enough."

Charlotte sits on the couch next to Andie, cradling Harper in her arms.

Andie looks at the three week old baby. "Do you think her eyes will stay blue like mine or change, momma?"

"Well," Charlotte looks at Harper's eyes. "They're pretty light. I think they'll stay blue or change to green if anything."

"What about her hair?" Andie asks. "Will she stay blonde or will it turn red like mine or darken up to brown like Nicky's?"

"I think she'll stay blonde like Noah and Drew." Charlotte answers. "Your hair was red right from the start, Chase had dark hair like your father from the start." Charlotte tells Andie.

Cooper comes over. "Harper looks like your momma's family. She inherited a lot her genes from the Kings."

"That's a good thing." Andie tells them. "Thank goodness for that."

"Why?" Cooper asks.

"Well, I wouldn't want her to take after your side of the family since you're related to Nicky."

"Oh." Cooper nods.

Andie tells them. "The next time Nicky and I have a baby. I'm going to go to a genetic doctor so they can check out the genes first. I don't want to have to worry like I did with Harper."

Charlotte's eyes open wide. "You're thinking about having another baby with Nicky?"

"Not yet, momma." Andie snickers. "You can relax. I don't plan on having another baby for at least five years and after I'm done with college."

Cooper shakes his head and walks off into the kitchen. Harper starts to fuss. "I better get her some formula." Charlotte follows Cooper into the kitchen.

"Can you believe she's thinking about having another baby? This one is barely three weeks old." Cooper gripes to Charlotte.

Charlotte shakes her head. "I thought my socks were gonna fly off when she said that."

"That would have been a trick." Cooper smiles at the thought.

"I mean up until the accident Andie didn't seem too thrilled to have Harper around." Charlotte pours the formula into a baby bottle and hands it to Cooper.

"I think we should have her talk to Violet. Maybe she's got a little post partum depression going on." Cooper suggests.

Couldn't hurt." Charlotte shrugs.

* * *

><p>Andie calls Tess. "Hey!" Tess answers. "How are you feeling?"<p>

"I have a headache but other than that I'm good."

Tess repsonds. "Your parents wanted everyone out of the house today so you could rest in peace and quiet."

"Yeah, they told me. Where are you?"

"I'm having lunch with Chase at the Chinese Buffet. Why?" Tess asks.

"Do you think you could stop by the studio and watch Nicky's band practice today? He's there now."

"Why?" Tess asks. "We just saw him in concert the other night."

"Because he was dating the new keyboard player over the summer. It was serious."

"Wow." Tess wipes her mouth with a napkin.

Andie explains. "She broke it off with Nicky when she found out about Harper and Nicky was at my side holding my hand for the birth."

"That's good." Tess sighs.

"But I'm worried that Nicky still has feelings for her and I'm sure she has feelings for him since she only broke up with him because of Harper."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Tess asks.

"Just watch them for me."

"Don't you trust Nicky?" Tess asks.

"I trust him. I mean just watch them to see how they look at each other, how they talk to each other, to see how strong their feelings are for each other. I would go myself but I have to be on bedrest cuz of my head."

"What am I going to tell Nicky?" Tess asks. "What's my excuse going to be for watching his band practice?"

"Maybe you can take Logan. Say that Logan is a big fan and wants to watch them practice." Andie suggests.

"I'm sure your brother will love that." Tess answers, sarcastically.

"Tell Chase to do this one thing for me. I'm dying over here worrying that Nicky and this girl are in love with each other." Andie pleads. "I need to know."

"Alright. I'll talk to Chase about it and if he doesn't mind I'll call Logan."

"Thanks so much." Andie hangs up.

"What does my sister want?" Chase asks Tess. "What does it have to do with Logan?"

"Logan's a big Broken Spell fan. Andie wants us to take him to watch Nicky's band practice this afternoon so we can spy on Nicky."

Chase screws up his face. "Why?"

Tess explains. "Nicky was dating the new keyboard player this summer. Andie's worried they still have feelings for each other. She wants me to check it out to see what kind of vibe I get from them."

Chase shakes his head.

"So, are you willing to help me do this for your sister?" Tess asks.

Nicky rolls his eyes. "I feel like Fred Mertz"

Tess laughs. "That makes me Ethel."

"Let's go, call Logan." Chase calls the waiter over for the check.

* * *

><p>Tess rings the doorbell at Nicky's studio room. A young dark haired man answers. "We're friends of Nicky Poulos. He's expecting us."<p>

"Hey Nick!" The guy calls out. "There's some friends of yours at the door."

"Let 'em in." Nicky calls back. He walks over to Tess, Chase and Logan.

"This is my friend Logan." Tess tells Nicky. "He's a big fan of Spell Broken. Thanks for letting him come watch you practice."

"No problem." Nicky shakes Logan's hand. "We appreciate our fans support. Have a seat and make yourselves at home." Nicky points to a couch across the room. "Okay, guys! This isn't a break." Nicky calls out to his band. "Let's get jammin'!"

The band practices a few of their new songs. Nicky plays the guitar and sings with Jodie the female singer while the band jams.

Logan shakes his foot along to the beat, getting into the music. Chase munches on some potato chips while Tess keeps an eye on the female keyboard player.

"Okay." Nicky tells his band. "Let do something else. Let's do Moves Like Jagger."

"Why?" Cody asks. "I thought we were only doing are own original songs tonight?"

"Yeah." Nicky nods. "We're doing our own songs for the concert but we still need to do the other stuff for Giorgio's. The guests at Giorgios' like a mix of our stuff and the other stuff."

"Okay!" Cody calls out to the band. "Everyone get your music sheets back out for Moves like Jagger."

Nina, the keyboard player, tells Cody. "I'm not familiar with that song. I only know the original stuff since that's all we played all summer."

"Yeah." Cody nods. "But we're going to start playing at Giorgio's again Thursday since tonight's the last Jungle Boy's concert of the season. You're going to have to get to know to the old stuff we play."

"Bare with me." Nina tells them. She flips to the page for the music.

"They start jamming." Nicky sings his lines. He stops and turns to Nina. "You're in the wrong key!" He snaps.

Nina shoots back. "I told you to bare with me! I never played this song before!"

"Well you better get it together fast." Nicky warns her. "We'll be playing at Giorgio's Thursday night. You need to learn this music fast. If you can't hack it I'll see if Kevin's ready to come back."

"I can hack it. I catch on fast." Nina tells Nicky.

"Hit it!" Nicky yells to the band and they start playing again.

"This is really awesome." Logan tells Tess. "Thanks so much for doing this for me."

"No problem." Tess keeps her eye on Nina. Nina's concentrating on the music.

Nicky stops singing. "No! No! NO!" Nicky yells at the band. "Did you forget how to play this stuff? You all suck! You're out of key!"

Nina answers back. "It wasn't me this time. I know I was in the right key."

"You call that the right key?" Nicky throws his hands up in the air.

"She was in key, Nick!" Jodie the female singer defends Nina. "If anything _YOU_ were out of key this time!"

"_I_ was NOT out of key!" Nicky shouts at Jodie.

Tess, Chase and Logan watch them all argue. "This is so cool!" Logans smiles. "You never know what goes on behind the scenes."

Nicky yells at his band. "You guys better get your shit together fast! We have to be on stage in a few hours!" Nicky huffs.

Jodie shouts at Nicky. "We're not playing _THIS _song in a few hours!We're playing this song at Giorgio's on Thursday night! Why don't we stick with practicing what we need to know tonight and that'll give Nina time to learn our old music for Giorgio's on Thursday!"

"That sounds good to me!" Nina answers. "I say we just practice what we need to know for tonight."

Nicky yells at Nina, "You have NO say! You're a rookie! I decide what songs we play and when! This is MY band!"

"What the hell crawled up your ass today?" Jodie yells at Nicky.

Cody holds his hand up to the band. "Everyone take ten!" Cody waves Nicky over to the other side of the room to talk. They're standing a few feet away from Tess and Chase. Tess listens.

"What's your problem today, dude?" Cody hands Nicky a cigarette and lights it for him. "You're mean."

"I'm beat." Nicky inhales his cigarette. "I had Harper last night. I didn't get any sleep."

"Yeah, well, you can't take it out on the band and _you_ were out of key on the last song, not Nina." Cody tells him.

"I'm never out of key." Nicky tells Cody.

"You were today. What's going on?"

"I told you I was up with the baby last night. She woke up two times to eat."

"I get that you're tired but why were you so hard on Nina?"

"She was out of key." Nicky tells Cody. "We can't afford that shit now that our band's opening for a big time band like The Jungle Boys."

"She never played that song before and it's only practice. Give her a break. Do you want her to quit on us?'

Nicky doesn't answer.

"Nina's good. We can't afford for Nina to quit. Kevin isn't ready to come back. It'd be stupid for us to hire another keyboard player now, they'd have to learn all our songs from scratch."

Nicky puffs on his cigarette.

"What is this really about? Is this because Nina dumped you after Harper was born?" Cody asks.

Tess listens nearbye.

"It sucks, dude, having to work with Nina, having to see her and play with her on stage after how we were last summer. It's awkward and it sucks..." Nicky takes a puff of his cigarette. "I feel like I did something wrong to her, like I'm the bad guy."

"You shouldn't feel bad, dude, Nina ended it with you." Cody puffs on his cigarette.

"Only because of Harper, before that things were really good with us."

"It was still her choice to end things, she doesn't want to deal with your baggage."

Nicky blows his cigarette smoke at Cody. "Don't call my baby baggage, dude, that's not cool."

Cody notices Chase sitting on the couch with Tess and Logan so he lowers his voice a little to ask Nicky. "Do you still love Andie?"

"Yeah. Andie did a lot of shit to me. She didn't tell me she was off the pill then she let me think she had the abortion." Nicky inhales on his cigarette and blows it out. "Andie pulled a lot of shit on me, I probably shouldn't still love her but I do." He shrugs.

Tess gets up to go to the water cooler so she can try to hear them better. "What about Nina? Do you love her?"

"I thought I did but I'm not sure. I want to be with Andie and Harper but it's hard to see Nina. We had something good this summer. We didn't even have our first fight yet." Nicky explains.

"You were still in the honeymoon phase with Nina, that's why it's hard. You're right, Andie did a lot of shit to you and Nina didn't." Cody tells Nicky "I don't get why you're taking it out on Nina like this."

Nicky shrugs "I don't know either. It's just hard working with her. I had an amazing time with Nina this summer. Even when I told her that Andie never had the abortion and I told her I was there with Andie for the birth, she didn't get mad at me."

"What'd she say?" Cody asks.

"She just said, 'I can't see you anymore under these circumstances.' That's it. She didn't get mad. There was no fight. She just walked away."

"Maybe that's it." Cody says. "Maybe you're upset at Nina because she let you go so easy. She didn't fight for you. She didn't try to convince you to stay with her. Maybe that pisses you off deep down inside that noggin of yours." Cody playfully knocks on Nicky's head. "It makes you feel like you were a lot more into her than she was into you if she could walk away so easliy."

"Get away from me, dude." Nicky pushes Cody's hand away. "What are you my shrink now?"

Cody chuckles. "I'd be a great shrink. I have enough practice listening to all the shit that goes on with you and Andie."

Nicky puts his cigarette out. "Alright! Enough shrinking me, we have to get back to practice."

"As long as you got it together and stop yelling at everyone." Cody puts his cigarette out now too.

"Let's go!" Nicky calls out to the band. "Break's over! Back to work!"

The band take their places with their instruments. "Alright," Nicky announces. "We'll stick with our own original music today. We'll give Nina time to practice our old stuff for Giorgio's during the week. Let's take it from the top of "Wicked World."

"Sounds good, boss." Jodie teases and they start playing. Nicky sings the lead vocals.

Tess, Chase and Logan look on. "Here we go. This is the good stuff." Logan leans back and listens to them practice.

Tess watches them too. She has an earful to tell Andie.


	121. Chapter 121

_**CHAPTER 121**_

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess walk in the front door after school. Andie's sitting on the couch feeding Harper. Tess plops her book bag on the floor and sits on the couch with Andie. "She's so cute." She watches Harper nurse on her bottle.<p>

"I was waiting for you to call me last night." Andie tells Tess.

"Sorry." Tess explains, "Nicky ended up giving us VIP tickets to watch his band and The Jungle Boys play at the pier. Logan really wanted to go and since it's their last concert of the season Chase and I went too. It was late by the time the concert was over and I didn't want to call and wake Harper up."

"Harper wakes up when Harper wants to wake up. The phone isn't going to wake her if she wants to sleep." Andie pulls the bottle out of the baby's mouth to burp her.

Chase gives Harper a gently rub on the head. "I'm going into the kitchen to get a snack. Do you girls want anything?"

"I'll have whatever you're having." Tess tells him.

"I'm good." Andie tells Chase before he walks into the kitchen. "So, what did you think of Nina?" She asks Tess.

"She's really nice, like super nice." Tess tells Andie.

"But how was she around Nicky?"

"Nina was fine. Nicky was the one with the problem. He kept yelling at everyone."

"Why?" Andie asks whiles she holds Harper over her shoulder, burping her.

"He was tired and cranky. He had Harper at his cottage the night before. He told Cody he was tired because she woke him up twice during the night to eat. I also heard him tell Cody he really loves you and Harper."

"What about Nina? What did he say about her to Cody?" Andie asks.

Chase comes in the room with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk. Tess and Andie each grab a cookie. Tess tells Andie "All he said about Nina is that he had a good time with her over the summer and she was really nice to him."

"Not like me?" Andie raises her eyebrows.

"He didn't say that. I told you he told Cody he loved you. He also said it was hard for him to work with Nina because of what happened between them over the summer."

"Did he say anything about why they broke up?" Andie asks.

"Actually, he did." Tess answers.

Chase rolls his eyes. "Women? Why don't you just talk to Nicky about this yourself, Andie?"

"I did but I want the scoop from Tess."

Tess continues. "He said Nina broke up with him after he told her about Harper's birth and how he was there for you. He said she didn't get mad or anything she just told him I can't see you anymore under these circumstances and that was it."

"Well, what does he expect?" Andie looks at Tess. "She doesn't want to go out with a dude if he still has feelings for his ex who just gave birth to his kid."

Tess answers. "I think he was just surprised she gave up on him so easy. That's all."

Andie puts the bottle back in the baby's mouth. "I guess her feelings for him weren't that strong. They were only dating two months. It couldn't have been that serious."

"Or…-" Tess thinks and then decides not to say it.

"Or what?" Andie asks Tess. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Tess shrugs. "Or she loved him so much she cut him loose. You know like in that song if you love someone set them free."

"Yeah." Chase nods. "The saying says if you love someone set them free, if they come back to you they're yours if they don't then they never were. Maybe she just wants to see if he'll come back to her and if he doesn't then it's better because he was never hers to start out with."

"That's ridiculous." Andie gets up to change the baby's diaper.

Chase takes the baby from her. "Here, I'll do it you're supposed to be resting."

Tess tells them. "I have to give Nina credit if that's what she's doing. It takes a lot of guts to set the guy you love free and wait and see if he'll come back."

Andie argues. "They were only going out for two months. How strong could their relationship be?"

Chase changes Harper's diaper and responds. "Maybe we should stop talking about this. We seem to have struck a nerve."

The doorbell rings. Tess answers it to find Nicky standing there. "Come in." She tells him. "Thank you for the VIP tickets last night."

"No problem." Nicky walks in the house. "How's my little princess?" He picks Harper up and cradles her.

"She had a good day." Andie tells him.

Chase picks up the plate of chocolate chip cookies. "We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Nicky sits next to Andie on the couch. "How's your head today?"

"A little better."

"Here." Nicky hands her a little black ipod type thing. "I recorded all your classes for you."

"Thanks." Andie gives him a kiss on the cheek to thank him. "Do you want to stay over for dinner tonight?"

"I'd love to but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to go to the studio and work with some of the band members. We need to freshen up on the songs we have to sing at Giorgio's. Giorgio's customers like a different type of music than the fans that go to the Jungle Boy's concerts. The customers want to hear older songs and stuff."

"Your band has been playing those songs for years. Why do you need to freshen up?" Andie asks.

"Not all of them." Nicky tells her. "Nina's new. She doesn't know all the songs we played at Giorgio's. She only knows our original music that we played for the Jungle Boys tour."

"Why can't you just give Nina the sheets of music and let her practice?" Andie wipes some spittle off of Harper's mouth.

"I have to oversee the band to make sure we're all playing in the right key and it sounds good. I can't let Nina wing it on her own and expect her to play in synch with the band on Thursday."

"It's just hard for me knowing that you dated her over the summer and now you're spending so much time with her." Andie pouts.

Nicky cups Andie's chin in his hand. He turns her chin so she's looking in his eyes. "I love you, Belle. I only went out with Nina over the summer because you dumped me. You need to trust me."

Andie pouts.

Nicky looks in her eyes. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"No."

"Then stop worrying." Nicky leans in and gives Andie a kiss on the lips. Andie kisses him back with a passion. Nicky has Harper cradled in his arms while Andie wraps her arms aound his neck.

Charlotte and Cooper walk in the house. They look over at Andie and Nicky on the couch. "Good God." Charlotte tells Cooper. "Looks like they're working on baby number two already."

Cooper calls out to them. "Parent alert! Parent alert! Your parents are home! You should stop now!"

Andie and Nicky break the kiss. Charlotte walks over to them. "Give me that sweet darlin'." Charlotte takes Harper from Nicky. "Does she need to be fed?" Charlotte asks.

"Nope, I just fed her and changed her." Andie answers.

"Good." Cooper says. "She's all set then for playtime with Nana and Grandpa." Charlotte and Cooper carry Harper upstairs to her nursery.

"Looks like it's just us now, Belle." Nicky smiles.

"Good." Andie pulls Nicky closer to kiss him. They kiss for a few seconds before Andie pushes Nicky down on the couch and lies on top of him.

"What are you doing, Belle? Your parents are upstairs."

"They'll be up there playing with Harper for at least ten minutes then they have to change out of their work clothes before they make dinner." Andie kisses Nicky.

"I thought you can't have sex until six weeks after you have the baby?" Nicky asks.

"I'm not planning on having sex with you on my living room couch when my parents are home, doofus. There's more ways to have fun than sex." Andie pushes Nicky's head back down.

"Show me." Nicky tells her before he runs his hands through her hair. Andie kisses down his chin until she gets to his neck where she starts teething on his skin. Nicky moans. Andie snakes her hands into his jeans and he lets out another small moan.

Noah walks in the front door with Marley, Nicky and Andie are too caught up in their make out session to notice. Marley and Noah stop short in their tracks when they see Andie lying on top of Nicky on the couch. Andie's still sucking hard on Nicky's neck while Nicky's hands are roaming Andie's body over her clothes. "This is embarrassing." Marley whispers to Noah. "We should sneak back out."

"Nah." Noah whispers. "This is better than tv."

Andie and Nicky are still going at it hot and heavy when Chase walks out of the kitchen with Tess. Chase breaks his cookie into two pieces and throws them at Nicky and Andie. "You want some milk with those cookies?" He laughs after he throws the cookies at them.

Noah laughs now too. Chase grabs Tess's cookie out of her hand. He breaks it and throws the pieces at Noah and Marley. He tells Andie and Nicky. "Did you know there are minors in the room? They were looking and learning." Chase laughs while Noah and Marley turn red in the face.

Andie pops up to a sitting position and wipes her mouth with her hand. Nicky sits up next. "How long were you standing there?" Andie asks Noah and Marley.

"Not long." Marley answers, embarrassed to be caught watching them. "I told you we should have snuck out." Marley tells Noah.

"Nah." Noah chuckles. "It was a good show."

"Did you learn a lot?" Chase asks Noah.

Tess tells Andie and Nicky. "You're not supposed to resume sexual relations until after you're six weeks post partum. I learned that volunteering at the clinic."

"I know that." Andie answers. "We weren't having sex. It was just some innocent fooling around."

"Didn't look so innocent to me." Noah chuckles. "You looked like a vampire biting your victim's neck."

Nicky chuckles now. "I'm no innocent victim, believe me, kid."

"How long were you watching us?" Andie picks up a pillow and throws it at Noah.

"Chill, Belle." Nicky tells Andie. "We have a kid they know we've done more than bite each other's necks."

"But not with an audience and not on the living room couch." Chase tells them. "You must be really horny to do that with momma and dad home."

Tess responds to Chase. "Well, it's been a long time for them. They were broken up for a while."

"We weren't going to have sex!" Andie's getting annoyed.

"Looks like you were getting ready to." Noah smirks.

"Shut up, Noah!" Andie yells.

Charlotte and Cooper both walk down the stairs now. "What's all the yellin' about?" Charlotte asks them.

Everyone gets quiet and stare at Charlotte and Cooper. Cooper looks at them. "What's going on?"

They look at each other and all remain quiet.

"You better be planning a surprise party for me is all I have to say." Charlotte stalks into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Cooper says as he follows Charlotte.

"Is momma's birthday coming up?" Noah asks.

"No, genius." Andie tells him. "She meant we better be planning her a party cuz we all got quiet when she came in the room. She was being sarcastic."

"So, why don't we tell her what was really going on." Noah threatens Andie.

"C'mon Nicky. Let's go to the nursery and check on Harper." Andie pulls Nicky by the hand up off the couch.

"You wouldn't dare do it in Harper's nursery?" Chase grimaces at Andie.

"For the last time we're not having sex. I have to wait until I'm six weeks post partum for Pete's sake." Andie pulls Nicky up the stairs.

"They're so gonna do it. Aren't they?" Noah asks.

"I don't think so." Tess says. "They know they have to wait. There are other ways to have fun without having intercourse." Tess tells them.

"Don't tell _them _that." Chase nudges Tess's arm.

* * *

><p>Andie pulls Nicky into Harper's nursery. Nicky looks at Harper asleep in her crib. "She's asleep like a little angel." Nicky tells Andie.<p>

"Good." Andie closes the door and locks it.

"What are you doing?" Nicky asks Andie.

"Finishing what we started before we were so rudely interrepted by my brothers." Andie pushes Nicky up against the wall and snakes her hands into his jeans. She pumps him while she blows in his ear. She slides her tongue back down to his neck and sucks forcefully on it. Nicky moans and moves his hand into her sweat pants. "No,no, Nick." Andie pulls his hand back out. "I can't do that yet. This is all about you." Andie pulls off Nicky's shirt and kisses all the way down his body until he's moaning and groaning. She takes turns pumping and licking him until he's shooting his warm liquid onto her. After he's done she wipes her mouth with her sleeve.

"Are you sure I can't do anything for you?" Nicky asks.

"Nope, I have to wait six weeks and besides it's better to give than to recieve."

Nicky wipes himself off with a burp towel. "Don't worry I'll pay you back ten times better when you're allowed to have sex again."

"Make sure you throw that in the laundry." Andie watches Nicky wipe off with the burp towel. "I wouldn't want my dad or my momma to pick it up."

Nicky throws the burp towel in the baby hamper. "I'll go in the bathroom to clean up before band practice."

"No problem." Andie watches him walk out of the nursery with his bright red neck before she walks back downstairs.

Tess and Chase are sitting on the couch. "Where's Nicky?" Tess asks.

"He's saying bye to Harper. He'll be down in a second." Andie tells her.

"Yeah right?" Chase says. "You mean to tell me you two were up there playing with Harper."

"We were playing." Andie snickers.

Tess giggles too when she notices Nicky walking down the steps with a huge red mark on his neck. "That's gonna be one hell of a hickey later." Tess laughs.

Nicky looks at Andie. "Really, Belle?" He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Oh come on, it's gonna look great on you." Andie laughs. "Besides, you enjoyed every second of it."

Charlotte comes out of the kitchen now. "How many are staying for dinner?"

"I'm staying." Tess raises her hand. "I'll stay too." Marley chimes in.

"How about you, Nicky?" Charlotte asks.

"I wish I could, Dr. King, but I have to get to band practice."

"C'mon Nick." Andie pleads. "You can be a little late. They can jam and practice until you get there."

"Is it ready now?" Nicky asks Charlotte.

"It's pipin' hot."

"Then I can stay and eat quick if you don't mind me eating and running." Nicky tells Charlotte.

"We don't mind." Andie grabs Nicky's hand and drags him into the kitchen.

Charlotte sets some extra plates at the table. Cooper pulls up some extra chairs. The family all sit down to eat.

Pass the mashed potatoes, Squirt, Cooper tells Drew. Drew looks up to pass the potatoes, Nicky's red neck catches his attention. "What happened to your neck, Nicky?" Drew asks. "It's all red."

All eyes are on Nicky's neck now. Nicky feels his neck with his fingers. "I don't know." He tells Drew. "I must have gotten bit by a bug."

Charlotte and Cooper exchange looks with each other before looking over at Andie. Andie eats her mashed potatoes and doesn't bother to look at anyone.

"I'll bet money it was an Andie bug that bit you." Noah laughs.

"Stop it, Noah." Marley hits Noah in the arm. "That's so rude."

"There's no such thing as an Andie bug." Drew says.

"Yes there is, she's sitting right over there." Noah gestures to Andie.

"Andie wouldn't bite anybody on the neck." Drew tells Noah. "Only vampires do that."

"I guess that means Andie's a vampire." Noah chuckles. "And a hungry one by the look of Nicky's neck. Did you suck him dry?"

"Alright!" Charlotte says, firmly. "Enough! Change the subject!"

The table is quiet for a few minutes before Cooper asks Nicky. "So, I hear you're going back to playing at Giorgio's?"

"Yeah," Nicky answers. "It worked out well that we got to tour with The Jungle Boys over the summer but now I'm back home so I can go to school and be around for Harper."

"What if you're offered another gig?" Charlotte asks. "What if another band asks you to go on a tour and open for them? What would you do?"

"Depending on the band we'd probably go. We'd be holding the band back if we didn't." Nicky tells them.

"I bet Andie's hoping your band doesn't get any offers so you don't have to hit the road." Noah tells Nicky.

"You don't know what I'm thinking, Noah." Andie scoffs.

"Andie can come with me if she wants." Nicky tells Noah.

Charlotte pipes in. "Andie's got a baby to think about now. It's not easy to hit the road with a baby in tow."

Cooper adds. "Not to mention, she's enrolled at UCLA. She can't just get up and go with your band."

"Nicky's enrolled in UCLA too, daddy. He can't just hit the road either. It has to be a really super offer for him to do that."

Nicky looks at his watch. "I better go. I'm already five minutes late for practice. Thanks for dinner, Dr. King."

"No problem." Charlotte starts to clear the dinner dishes.

Andie offers. "Tess and I can do the dishes, momma, since you cooked for everyone."

"Hey! I helped. Don't I get any credit?" Cooper whines.

"Thank you for dinner, daddy." Andie gives Cooper a kiss on the cheek.

"C'mon, grandpa," Charlotte smirks. "Let's go upstairs and check on that grandbaby of ours." Cooper follows Charlotte out of the kitchen.

"You probably want to have some girl talk. Am I right?" Chase asks Andie and Tess.

"You're right." Tess smiles at Chase.

"I'll take these bozo's into the living room to play some video games while you girls do whatever you do." Chase smirks.

"Get out of here, already." Tess throws a dish towel at him.

After the boys leave the kitchen. Tess tells Andie. "You really gave Nicky one helluva of a hickey. Is that what you were doing up in the nursery?"

"I started it downstairs on the couch but since we were so rudely interrupted I had to finish it upstairs." Andie tells her.

"So, you did it on purpose?" Tess furrows her brow. "You wanted to give him a huge hickey?"

Andie doesn't answer while she rinses the dishes.

"Oh, I get it now." Tess's eyes light up. "You did it because he's going to band practice. You want Nina to see it?"

Andie flashes Tess an evil grin.

"That's mean, Andie."

"How's it mean?" Andie defends. "I'm just showing her what's mine."

"She's definitely going to know Nicky's your's after she see's that. You can't miss it."

Andie snickers.

"The problem is that not just Nina will see it. Everyone will see it, including your parents."

"They already did, thanks to Drew." Andie rolls her eyes. "Anyway, we have a kid, it's no news flash that Nicky and I do the horizontal bop together."

"You didn't do the horizontal bop in Harper's room, did you?" Tess asks.

"Of course not." Andie answers. "You know I have to wait until six weeks after the baby's born. I just made sure Nicky left satisfied, if you get what I mean."

Tess nods her head. "You did it so he'll be satisfied when he gets to band practice and not give Nina a second look."

Andie nods. "Nicky likes sex, Nicky's good at sex and it's the one thing that Nina can give him right now that I can't. I didn't want him to go to band practice hungry."

"You're going to have to trust Nicky, Andie. You can't satisfy him whenever he needs to go to band practice." Tess advices.

"I do trust him but there's something about this thing that he had with Nina over the summer that scares me. I don't know why."

"Because you think Nicky could really love her?"

"Look at all the things I did to Nicky. I didn't tell him I was off the pill and got pregnant. I let him think I had an abortion. I gave him a child before he was ready. Nicky has a lot of reasons to resent me."

"But he doesn't resent you." Tess tells her. "After all the lies, Nicky still loves you. That's gotta tell you something. And he loves Harper. He can't hold any of that stuff you said you did against you or he wouldn't have Harper in his life."

"I guess I'm just feeling guilty. I feel like I don't deserve Nicky." Andie sighs now. "Nicky's probably better off with Nina. She's nice. She would never do the stuff to Nicky that I did to him. And then that song you were talking about earlier. She loves him enough to set him free to be with me - a selfish bitch."

"Stop it, Andie. Nicky loves you and Harper more than anything, He wants to be with _you_."

"But he shouldn't." Andie worries. "I should set him free like it says in the song and see if he comes back to me or goes to Nina but I'm too scared to do it. I don't want to lose him."

"If it's meant to be then it's meant to be." Tess tries to comfort Andie. "Right now, Nicky wants to be with you. Just go with it and trust him."

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper give Harper a bath together. "She's pure treasure." Charlotte tells Cooper. "Don't you dare tell this to anybody but I'm actually glad that Andie got pregnant. I cannot imagine our life without this little girl in it anymore."<p>

"I know." Cooper nods. "And I guess Nicky isn't that bad. He's been great with Harper and Andie."

"Did you getta look at his neck?" Charlotte quirks and eyebrow at Cooper.

"I believe he got bit by an Andie bug?" Cooper snickers.

"What is wrong with our daughter? She just had a baby three weeks ago and she's that horny already?" Charlotte goes on. "I remember being too exhasuted to even think about sex the first few months after the kids were born."

"That's because you worked and we were the one's getting up at night to feed our own children. Andie's had a lot of help."

"I guess her headache must be gone." Charlotte takes Harper out of the infant tub and wraps her in a towel.

Cooper sets out her diaper and clothes. "I'd say so." He rubs his head. "How did we create such a wild child?"

Charlotte smirks. "Your mother told me some wild stories about you when you were Andie's age."

Cooper gives Charlotte a devious grin before saying, "At least I didn't come home pregnant."

Charlotte playfully scoffs. "You would've if you had the right parts."

"You love my parts."

"I do." Charlotte kisses Harper on the head. "And I love this little darlin'."

"Char...-" Cooper says before hesitating.

"What?" Charlotte lies Harper down on the changing table to dress her.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being so good with Andie." Cooper explains. "This situation could have turned out a lot different if it wasn't for you. I was ready to go over there and punch Nicky after I found out Andie was pregnant. I wanted to shake our daughter and ask her how she could be so stupid after all you've done to teach her. You gave her the pill, you taught her about birth control. I was so mad but you kept me grounded."

"Yeah," Charlotte lets out a sigh, "I could forsee Andie never speakin' to us again and I didn't want that to happen."

"I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I'm always going to listen to you." Cooper makes a silly face at Harper.

"Damn." Charlotte says.

"What?"

"I wish I had that little recording thingy on me now so I could've taped you sayin' that."

Cooper laughs. "Well, you have Harper as your witness." Cooper looks at Harper and talks to her in a high pitched voice, like adults use with babies. "Isn't that right Harper Bopper?"

Charlotte laughs and tells Harper, "Your grandpa is a silly man."

"Heeeyy!" Cooper playfully protests.

Charlotte asks Cooper, "Do you still want to go to Hawaii with me? Yes or No?"

"Yes." Cooper nods and helps Charlotte tape on Harper's diaper. "But I think we should wait until Harper's at last six months old. There's too much going on here and I don't think any of our kids are mature to be left in charge of a newborn while we're gone."

"I think you're right." Charlotte pulls a pair of yellow duckie pajamas over Harper's head. "What a good baby you are." She picks the baby up while Cooper snaps up the legs of the pj's.

Andie comes in the nursery. "I can feed Harper while I listen to my lectures." Andie shows them the ipod recorder. "Nicky had all my classes taped for me today."

"Okay." Charlotte hands Harper to Andie. Andie sits in the rocking chair with the baby and turns her recorder on. "I'll bring you up a bottle of formula." Charlotte smiles at the sight of Andie and Harper rocking together in the chair listening to Andie's professor lecture about the periodic table.

"She's going to be one smart kid." Cooper tells Charlotte. "Learning the periodic tables at three weeks old is pretty impressive."

Charlotte swats Cooper's bottom as they walk down the stairs. "A little genius." Charlotte laughs.

Cooper swats Charlotte's bottom now. "You already have a genius in the family."

"Who?" Charlotte asks.

"Me." Cooper jokes.

Charlotte swats Cooper hard on the bottom now before they walk into the kitchen.

Marley looks at Noah. "Your entire family is horny."

"I know." Noah rolls his eyes.

"How come you're not?" Marley asks.

"I could be if you wanted me to be but I thought you preferred a gentleman." Noah tells her.

Marley bats her eyes at Noah. "A gentleman is okay most of the time but once in a while horny might be fun."

"Okay." Noah smiles. "You asked for it." Noah pulls Marley by the arm to the couch.

"What are you going to do to me?" Marley smiles.

"You'll see." Noah tongue kisses Marley. "Is that horny enough for you?"

Marley shakes her head and smiles. "No."

Noah laughs. "Oh, so you want more horny?"

Marley smiles and nods her head. "Show me what ya got, stud."

Noah tickles Marley down onto the couch. She laughs before Noah climbs on top of her, still tickling her. She tickles him back and they start tongue kissing. Charlotte and Cooper walk out of the kitchen. Charlotte nearly drops the bottle of baby formula out of her hand.

"Stop that!" Cooper blurts out.

"What in the hell is going on with that couch today?" Charlotte excaims to herself.

Noah jumps up off of Marley and straightens out his shirt. "Hi,dad, momma."

"What do you two think you were doing?"

"Nothing." Noah shrugs, his face is flushed.

"That didn't look like nothing to me." Charlotte grimaces at them.

"We were having a tickle war." Marley tells them.

"With your mouths?" Cooper scrunches up his face. "Come on, Marley." Cooper picks up his keys. "I'm driving you home."

"You're not going to tell my mother, are you?" She asks Cooper.

Cooper smacks his lips together. "Maybe."

"Please don't, Dr. Cooper. She'll never let me see Noah again if you do." Marley pleads.

"That might not be bad idea." Charlotte quirks an eyebrow at Marley. "One pregnant teenager around here was enough."

"Come on, momma. That's not fair. You know how strict Marley's mother is." Noah pleads with Charlotte.

"At least Marley won't end up pregnant." Charlotte scoffs.

"That's not necessarily true." Cooper tells Charlotte. "Kids with strict parents tend to rebel."

"We'll talk about it in the car." Cooper tells Noah and Marley. The three of them leave to drive Marley home.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN- Do you think Cooper should tell Jolie he caught Marley and Noah fooling around on the couch? Noah's fifteen and Marley is fourteen. What do you think he will do?_**


	122. Chapter 122

_**CHAPTER 122**_

* * *

><p>"What do you girls need to go to the library for?" Jolie looks in the rear view mirror to ask Marley and Lila. "Aren't all your books electronic now on your Nooks?"<p>

"Not all the authors want their books to be electronic." Marley tells her mother. "They need the authors permission first."

"So, the authors of the books you need didn't consent to allowing them to be on the Nook?" Jolie asks.

Marley looks at Lila because they're not planning to check any books out. They're not planning to even go to the library. Marley thinks for a minute then tells her mother. "We're not checking out books. We need to do research on a school project."

"What's wrong with our internet connection?" Jolie asks as she drives the two girls to the library.

"Nothing, it's just that Lila and I are partners so we figured it'd be better to do it at the library because...-" Marley tries to think. "Because...-"

Lila saves her. "Because our project is about encyclopedia's and they have those at the library. We have to write about the benefit of the internet over the old fashioned encyclopedia, so we wanted to see one for real and look through it."

Marley nods. "Yeah, our report is about encyclopedia's."

Jolie looks at Marley in the rear view mirror again. "Is Noah going to be at the library too?"

"No. I don't think so." Marley answers in a quiet voice. She hates lying to her mother but Noah isn't going to be at the library but then again neither is she.

"You know you're not allowed to see Noah outside of school until further notice." Jolie warns.

"I know that, mom, you made it clear."

"You're lucky I didn't take your phone away like Scott suggested."

"Scott had no right to suggest that, he's not my father and dad didn't think me and Noah kissing was that big a deal." Marley complains.

"Yeah,well, your father is a...-" Jolie stops herself.

"What were you going to call dad?" Marley looks at her mom.

Jolie shakes her head. "Nothing, I just don't want you to see Noah or go to the Freedman's house until I give you the say so."

"Why not mom?"

"Dr. Cooper told me what you and Noah were doing on the couch. The Freedman's may let their children behave like wild animals but that's not happening with you. You're to stay away from Noah."

Marley defends. "The Freedman's _don't_ let their kids behave like like wild animals."

"Their teenage daughter is dating an older man from a rock band and she just had a baby!" Jolie insists. "That would never happen at our house. I watch my children."

Marley looks over at Lila who's trying to control herself from snickering.

Marley insists. "Mom, Nicky's twenty one years old, he's not an older man."

"He got Andie pregnant when she was only seventeen." Jolie tells her daughter.

"And Nicky was only twenty then, mom, they're only three years apart." Marley scoffs. "You make it sound like she was dating a forty-year old man who knocked her up."

"Don't you get sassy with me, Marley Elizabeth, or I will turn this car around and take you home!"

"Sorry, mommy." Marley looks at the floor.

"That's better."

Jolie turns into the parking lot of the library. "What time should I pick you girls up?"

"Don't worry about it, Pete's coming to get us later." Lila tells Jolie.

"You're referring to your father?" Jolie turns around to look at Lila.

"Yes."

"Why do you call him Pete instead of dad?" Jolie asks.

"Pete prefers it that way." Lila tries to contain her laughter.

Jolie shakes her head, a bit annoyed. "As long as it's before six o'clock that's fine. I want Marley home by six for dinner." Jolie looks at Marley now. "Call me or Scott for a ride home if Dr. Wilder can't make it there by six."

"No worries," Lila tells Jolie as she and Marley exit the car. "Pete will have her home by six."

"Bye, girls, study hard." Jolie shakes her head again before she drives away.

Marley and Lila walk towards the front door of the library, when they're sure Jolie's car is far out of sight they walk in the direction of the skate park. "Your dad hates it when you call him Pete. Did you tell my mother he prefers it to drive her crazy?"

"It worked." Lila smirks.

"My mother isn't dumb, Lila, if I knew you were doing to drive her crazy she probably knows it too."

"So?" Lila sticks a piece of gum in her mouth. "She doesn't suspect we're meeting Noah and Dylan at the skate park or she would have never dropped us off at the library." Lila walks with Marley in the direction of the park.

"That's because she trusts me."

"Bummer." Lila twists her mouth. "What if she decides to check up on us later and we're not there?"

Marley shrugs. "I'll move in with my dad, that's the benefit of having divorced parents."

"Your dad's cool." Lila chomps on her gum as she talks. "Why don't you move in with him? Then you can see Noah whenever you want."

"My mother would go nuts on my dad if he didn't follow her punishment. I'm hoping my parents will get back together one day, I don't want to _start_ a war between them over me."

The girls get closer to the skate park when Lila asks. "Am I going to have to come with you to the _"library"_ every day so you can meet Noah at the skate park?"

"Only on days I stay at my mom's house." Marley explains. "When I'm at my dad's house, I'll tell my dad to drop us off at the skate park as long as I don't say I'm going there to meet Noah, he'll be okay with it. My dad won't care if I _accidentally _bump into Noah at the park because he can tell my mom he had nothing to do with it, but if I tell _my mom_ I want to go to the skate park, her intuition will tell her I'm meeting Noah here."

"Whew." Lila wipes her brow. "That's complicated shit."

"Yep." Marley looks down the path for Noah to show up.

"What did you and Noah do that was so bad, just kiss on the couch?" Lila looks out down the path for Noah and Dylan.

"Noah's parents caught us fooling around on the couch, his dad had to go and blab to my mom even though I begged him not to. You know what a bitch my mom can be."

"Yeah." Lila nods. "How far did you and Noah go?"

"We were just tickling each other over our clothes and kissing, that's it." Marley tells Lila. "We weren't groping each other or anything like that. Our hands were on top of our clothes, not like Noah's sister who had her hand in Nicky's pants. Yet, she's allowed to keep seeing him and me and Noah can't see each other anymore."

"Well, Andie's eighteen and already has a baby. You're fourteen and they want to prevent you from having a baby."

Marley turns around to face Lila. "I can't believe you agree with them. We were only tickling each other."

"Andie's parents are hyper aware of that kind of stuff because Andie got pregnant. They're not going to let it happen to another one of their kids." Lila explains. "They're going to watch you and Noah with eagle eyes. You'll be lucky if they let you hold hands with him before your eighteenth birthday."

Noah and Dylan skateboard down the path to meet up with Lila and Marley. Marley runs up to greet Noah. He picks her up and spins her around. "Marz Barz!"

Lila screws up her face. "You two make me want to barf. You just saw each other at school two hours ago."

"We miss hanging out with each other after school." Marley grabs Noah's hand and swings it with hers while she talks.

Dylan laughs. "What are you stuck like glue to each other?"

Noah picks Marley up and spins her again. She holds onto him tight and presses her lips into his. They start to kiss with their tongues. It's awkward at first since they're both new at it.

"Get a room!" Lila teases. "Please, my eyes hurt."

"Let's give them some privacy." Dylan pulls Lila away by the arm. "You can use Noah's skateboard since it looks like he's going to be preoccupied for a while, I'll race you down the path. You can even have a head start." Dylan and Lila skate away leaving Noah and Marley alone.

"I can't believe my dad opened his big mouth and told your mom." Noah sits down on the grass with Marley.

"I know, we were only tickling each other." Marley complains to Noah. "We used to have tickle wars when we were little kids all the time and they thought it was cute. Now tickle wars are suddenly taboo."

"Seriously," Noah agrees. "Our parents are lame."

Marley laughs, telling Noah. "One, two, three, four, I declare a tickle war. Yell Yoda if you want mercy or the other person to stop."

"Got it, _Yoda_." Noah agrees. "But, I better warn you I don't like to lose."

"Me either." Marley starts tickling Noah on the belly before Noah tickles Marley under her arms. She falls back on the grass laughing, Noah continues to tickle her. She knows that she's losing the war so she goes for his lower belly where she remembers he's ticklish from the other day. They're both squirming around, laughing, her hand ends up moving down lower, tickling him between his legs. He stops for a minute and gulps at the pleasant feeling. She feels him growing hard under her hand through his khakis. She should take her hand off of him but she's very curious about the growing hard muscle in his pants. She tickles him more, keeping her fingers over him. "That's a neat trick. I like it."

"Me too." He tickles her on her belly again before he moves his fingers under and then up her shirt to her boobs. He slows his fingers down to feel around. After a little over a minute, she calls out Yoda. He takes his hands off her. "I won!" He calls out.

"Not really. I kinda won first." Marley tells him. "I got you to grow in my hand."

"But, I didn't yell Yoda."

"That's because you liked it too much."

"I did." Noah kisses Marley. Marley moves her hand back down to check if he's still hard. Dylan and Lila skate back over to them.

"You guys need to go somewhere private and bang it!" Dylan yells out.

"Is that what you were doing in front of Dr. Cooper?" Lila asks. "No wonder."

Marley stands up now and brushes off her jeans. "No, we were just tickling each other in front of Dr. Cooper. This is what you call making out."

"So, you're making progress?" Lila asks.

"You can say that." Marley answers.

"You better not get caught." Lila responds. "Come on, get over here and skate board with me."

The girls skate board ahead of Dylan and Noah. Dylan asks Noah. "What's going on with you and Marley?"

Noah shrugs. "We were making out. She's my girlfriend so there's nothing wrong with that."

"Was it good?" Dylan asks. He's never even kissed a girl before.

"It was effin' unbelievable." Noah tells Dylan. "It's the most incredible feeling when a girl puts her hands on your sausage. I can't even explain it to ya, dude, ya gotta try it yourself to understand what I mean."

Dylan nods and hops on his skateboard. "I'll get there one day, I hope. First, I need to find a girl." He skates away.

* * *

><p>Andie comes home from class Thursday afternoon and plops her book bag on the couch. She walks in the kitchen for a snack. "Hey daddy, I'm home now if you've got something to do."<p>

"Actually, I have to go check on a few patients at the hospital. I fed and changed Harper about an hour ago. She's asleep in her crib so I'd get any studying you need to do out of the way now. She'll be wake again in about two hours."

"Got it, daddy. You're the best." Andie gives Cooper a kiss on the cheek to thank him for watching Harper while she went to school.

The doorbell rings. "I'll get it on my way out." Cooper tells Andie.

Andie follows Cooper to the door. Cooper opens it to find Nicky standing on the other side. Cooper glances at his daughter's teeth work on Nicky's neck. He looks at Andie and shakes his head before he leaves for the hospital.

"I like your neck." Andie teases Nicky as he walks in the house.

"Not everyone shares your enthusiasm about it." Nicky gives Andie a little bite on the neck.

"Let me guess who?" Andie bats her eyes at him. "Nina."

Nicky sits on the couch. "Where's Harper Ava?"

"Sleeping."

Nicky starts to talk. "I'm going to be honest with you. I sent Nina a plant today." Nicky puts his feet up relaxing on the Freedman's couch.

Andie moves his legs over to make room for her to sit. "Why would you do something like that? You're going to lead her on."

"She was really frazzled at band practice Monday after she saw the hicky on my neck."

"Why should she be frazzled? She broke up with you." Andie shrugs. "Your neck is none of her business."

"Did you give me the hicky to hurt Nina?" Nicky asks.

"I don't even know Nina."

"Why did you put a big hicky on my neck right before you knew I was going to band practice?" Nicky looks her in the eyes and waits for an answer.

"I just want everybody to know you're taken." Andie shrugs. "Because you are."

"Andie you have to trust me." Nicky takes her hand and holds it. "I'm yours, you don't need to mark up my neck to chase the competition away."

"So, you admit, I have competition?" Andie asks.

"No, there's no competition so stop worrying about it."

"Why did you feel the need to send Nina a plant because I gave you a hicky?"

"I could tell it threw her off. She was out of sorts the whole night. She just seemed so sad." Nicky responds.

"But why should she be so rattled and sad if she knows it's over between the two of you?"

Nicky takes a deep breath. "I don't know. Nina and I had a really good thing going over the summer. I guess she thought we were going to last but then I found out you were still pregnant and Harper Ava was born so my relationship with Nina came to an abrupt halt. Then, I walk into band practice with a huge love bite on my neck, it's sort of like rubbing salt in the wound."

Andie nods her head. "I see."

Nicky squeezes Andie's hand. "Nina was good to me. She didn't do anything wrong. She let me go after I told her about Harper. It was a hard thing for her to do but she did it for me and Harper. I don't want to hurt her anymore than I already have. Do you understand, Andie?"

Andie sighs. "You're protective of her."

"Andie, how do I make you understand? Nina's a great girl who got caught up in our life, she got hurt through no fault of her own, I feel horrible about it and I want to make sure I don't hurt her anymore which I did the other day when I walked in with the love bite on my neck. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Andie nods. "I just wish you didn't have to see her so much. How would you feel if I was dating Tyler over the summer and shared a hotel room with him but we broke up because you had my baby…-"

Nicky chuckles. "I'd be famous."

"I'm serious, Nicky, what if I still saw Tyler every day and you knew we had a sexual relationship and had feelings for each other?"

Nicky shrugs. "I wouldn't like it."

"Welcome to my world."

"Andie, the reason I started dating Nina is because I thought we were over. I didn't think you wanted me anymore. I never stopped loving you."

"But, I told you we could talk about resuming our relationship in the fall after I got back from Europe."

"I thought you were just stringing me along because I kept showing up begging you to forgive me." Nicky holds her hand.

"I guess I _was_ stringing you along but it was because I didn't want you to know I was pregnant. I wanted to wait until after the baby was born, give her up for adoption and then get back together with you."

Nicky shakes his head. "I'm glad that didn't happen. I would have never gotten to meet my daughter. Harper Ava's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thank you for her."

Andie smiles. "Yeah, she is pretty amazing. I'm happy it all worked out and I'm sorrry for the lies."

"Just promise me you'll trust me and stop worrying about Nina."

"It's not like I have a choice." Andie shrugs.

Nicky leans in to kiss Andie. "I love you, Belle."

"I love you, Nick." They exchange a kiss before Nicky rises to his feet. "Now let me see that princess of mine before I have to go play at Giorgio's tonight." They walk up the stairs to the nursery.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW! =)<strong>_


	123. Chapter 123

_**CHAPTER 123**_

* * *

><p>Cooper greets Charlotte at the front door. "How was your day?" He gives her a friendly hello kiss.<p>

"My day was fine." She pecks a kiss onto his lips. "How was your day?'

"Fun." Cooper nods. "Sarah's here, I was just watching Sarah and Drew play Battlefield."

"Where's my granddaughter?" Charlotte puts her purse down to give Drew a kiss on the top of his head while he concentrates on his game of Battlefield with Sarah.

"Harper's sleeping like a baby in her crib." Cooper looks over Drew's shoulder at his ship placement.

"Where are the kids?" Charlotte asks Cooper.

"Chase is at Tess's house doing homework. Noah went to the skate park with Dylan and Andie has her first appointment with Violet now."

"Ah, I hope it goes well." Charlotte wanders into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

Cooper looks over Drew's shoulder at the game.

Sarah calls out "F-5!"

"I wouldn't do that." Cooper tells her. "Try F-8."

"F-8!" Sarah calls out.

"Hey! That's not fair. She sunk my ship." Drew complains to Cooper. "Why'd you tell her?"

"You already captured three of her ships, Squirt. This is the first ship of your's she's captured." Cooper answers.

"That's cheating!" Drew yells. "I'm not playing anymore!" He folds his hands against his chest and pouts.

"C'mon Drew." Cooper tousles his hair. "Don't be like that."

"You cheated!" Drew yells at Cooper. "You told Sarah the coordinates or else she wouldn't have sunk any of my ships yet!"

Charlotte comes out of the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Daddy and Sarah are cheating!" Drews yells. "I'm not playing with them anymore!" Drew gets up and stomps up the stairs. Sarah follows.

Charlotte folds her arms and glares at Cooper.

"What?" Cooper shrugs. "I was helping Sarah out. Drew was creaming her. He had three of her ships and she didn't have any of his."

"You should just let the kids play, Cooper. See what happens when you interfere. Now nobody wants to play."

"C'mon, Chief." Cooper tells Charlotte. "Battleship's a boy's game. I was helping Sarah out."

"You did not just say that!"

"I kinda just did."

"How is Battleship a boy's game? I used to to play all the time with my brothers when we were kids. I whipped their bottoms every time." Charlotte folds her arms, waiting for a response.

"You were also a few years older than your brothers." Cooper tells her. "It's easy for a ten year old to beat a five year old."

"Let's go! Right now." Charlotte sits down in Drew's seat and starts setting up a new game.

"You want to play with me now?" Cooper asks.

Charlotte raises her eyebrows at him. "Too many kids around for that. We'll do that later. Let's play Battleship for now."

Cooper sits down across from Charlotte. "Loser cooks dinner."

Drew and Sarah wander around upstairs. "Can I see your baby sister?" Sarah asks.

"She's not my sister. I'm her uncle," Drew says, proud.

"Can I see her?"

"Yeah. " Drew opens the door to the nursery "But don't wake her up."

Sarah looks at the one month old blonde haired baby sleeping in the crib. "She has a lot of hair for a baby."

"Yeah." Drew nods.

"Look! It's sock fell off." Sarah points out a little pink sock lying in the crib.

Drew shakes his head. "We can never keep socks on her feet. We find them all over the house."

"I should out it back on." Sarah tells Drew. "It's foot is probably cold." Sarah tries to stick her six year old wrist through the crib bars. "My hand won't fit. I have to climb in." Sarah pulls herself up on the crib bar and pulls her legs over into the crib.

"Be careful. Don't wake her up." Drew warns. "We're not supposed to be in here when she's sleeping."

"Okay." Sarah pulls the little pink sock over Harper's foot without waking her up. "It's little pink hair bow is loose. I better fix it." Sarah tells Drew as she reaches for the bow. Harper lets out a tiny whimper now.

"Don't pull her hair." Drew warns. "She'll cry."

"I'm trying to get this bow back in." Sarah tugs at Harpers short, fine baby hair trying to clip the bow on. "Her hair is so short. It's hard to keep this clip in." Sarah accidentally jabs Harper in the head with the clip. Harper starts crying.

"Oh no!" Drew exclaims. "You woke her up."

"What should I do?" Sarah asks Drew.

"Give her to me. I know how to rock her back to sleep." Drew tells Sarah.

Sarah picks the one month old baby up like a sack of potatoes and hands her to Drew. Harper starts screaming in Drew's arms. Sarah climbs over the crib rail and jumps onto the floor making a loud thud noise.

Cooper and Charlotte are downstairs playing Battleship. They hear the thud and they hear Harper screaming. "I don't like the sound of that." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"Me either." Charlotte and Cooper get out of their seats and make a mad dash for the nursery.

Drew's holding a screaming Harper while Sarah is still trying to stick the clip in the baby's hair.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte yells at the children. "Give her to me!" Charlotte takes the baby from Drew.

"We were fixing her up." Sarah tells Charlotte. "Her sock fell off and her clip was hanging out of her hair. She was a mess."

"What was that loud noise we heard?" Charlotte asks them as she rocks her granddaughter. "Did one of you drop her on the floor?"

"No." Drew answers. "We didn't drop her. That noise was just Sarah jumping out of the crib."

"You kids can't be climbing in Harper's crib." Charlotte scolds. "She's much smaller than you. You could hurt her." Charlotte gives Harper a kiss on the head as she rocks her.

"Thank you for your help." Cooper diplomatically tells the two six year olds. "We'll take it from here."

"No problem, Dr. Freedman." Sarah leaves the nursery with Drew.

Charlotte rocks the baby. "They could have killed her."

"They couldn't have killed her by fixing her socks and her bow." Cooper makes a goofy face at Charlotte.

"Well, they could have dropped her."

Cooper smirks before he tells Charlotte. "I'd hate to have to tell Andie and Nicky that their baby was dropped on her head on our watch."

Charlotte agrees. "I don't think we need to tell them about this little incident."

"Nah" Cooper smiles and watches Charlotte rock Harper in the chair. "I can't believe we have a grandchild."

"Let's not start that again. Let's lay off of Andie about that for a while." Charlotte warns.

"No. I don't mean it like that. What I mean is it's amazing to watch you rocking our grandchild. We've come a long way from out first night out for drinks."

Charlotte smiles. "It is amazing." Charlotte gives Harper a soft kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

><p>Andie sits on the couch in Violet's office. She has her arms crossed, she looks around Violet's office. "You know this was my parent's idea for me to see you, right?" Andie taps her foot on the floor.<p>

"Yes." Violet nods. "Do you know why your parents want you to talk to me?"

Andie nods, slightly. "They're worried about me. I've been through a lot with the pregnancy and then the car accident really freaked them out."

"That's understandable." Violet tells Andie. "They're your parents. They love you, you could have died."

"I don't want to upset them." Andie tells Violet. "I try hard to _not_ upset them but I end up screwing everything up and upsetting them even more."

"How do you try hard not to upset them? Can you give me an example?" Violet asks.

Andie keeps her arms folded. "Like when I didn't tell them I was pregnant. I knew it would really freak them both out and upset them."

"Tell me why you thought it would freak them out so bad?"

"It's my momma's job to teach teenagers and adults about safe sex. How does it look if her own teenage daughter doesn't even follow her advice? It looks really bad." Andie rambles on. "I didn't want to make my momma look like she's bad at her job and I didn't want her to hate me or be ashamed of me for getting pregnant."

"What about your father?" Violet asks

"He hates Nicky or at least he did. He wanted me to break up with him long before I got pregnant. I didn't want to hear him rant."

"How are your parents now? How do they feel about Harper?" Violet leans forward in her seat for the answer.

"They love her. The first thing they do every morning is go into the nursery to see her. Sometimes it feels like she's their baby."

"How do you feel about that?"

"It's okay with me. I'm glad they love her so much." Andie hesitates. "It's like it cancels out them being mad at me and Nicky for having her because they love her so much. It's kind of weird the way it worked out."

Violet smiles and waits a full minute before saying. "Your father told me you were upset right before the accident. He said you were crying."

"Does my father tell you everything?"

"He's concerned about you. Can you tell me why you were crying that night?" Violet asks in a soft voice.

"My world was crashing down on me. Nicky told me he dated another girl over the summer. It was serious. She only left him because Harper was born." Andie opens up to Violet. "Then Harper was screaming. I couldn't get her to calm down. Nicky took her from me and started singing to her and she calmed down for him. I'm her mother, I'm supposed to be able to soothe my own baby. I felt like an epic failure. I failed everyone, Nicky, my parents, Harper. I got upset and ran out of there and had the accident."

"How do you feel now?" Violet takes down some notes. "Do you still feel like a failure?"

Andie shrugs. "I'm doing better with Harper. We've been bonding but I still don't know about Nicky."

"What's going on with you and Nicky?"

"He told me he loves me and only dated Nina over the summer to try and move on but I can't help thinking he might still love her."

"Why?" Violet asks.

"Because he told me they had a really good thing over the summer and he mentioned how nice she was to just walk away and give him up for me and Harper without a fight."

"And that uspets you?" Violet jots down more notes.

"I feel selfish. I feel like she loves Nicky more than me because she's willing to give him up. You know that saying if you love someone set them free and if they come back to you they're yours and if they don't they never were?"

"I know the saying." Violet nods.

"What if Nicky decides to go back to her the next time we have a fight?"

"You're afraid of that?" Violet asks.

"I'm terrified of that."

"Why?"

"Because Nicky's the love of my life. I can't be without him."

"You said Nicky told you he loves you."

"Right." Andie nods. "But what if he loves her too?"

"You and Nicky have a child together now." Violet points out.

"I know but I've lied to Nicky, I hid the pregnancy from him. Nina never did anything to hurt him so I'm afraid deep down he may love her more than me."

"He chose you, Andie. He's with you."

"But for how long? I'm scared he'll run back to her the next time we fight."

"You have to trust him, Andie, or you'll never find peace." Violet advices.

* * *

><p>Nicky's at band practice with Cody. They take a five minute break to go outside and smoke.<p>

"Nina was awesome on the keyboards today." Cody lights up a cigarette.

"Yeah." Nicky nods. "She caught on to our old music quick."

"That chick's amazing." Cody inhales on his cigarette. "She's a classy lady."

"She is." Nicky blows out his smoke.

"So, is everything completely over with you and Nina?" Cody asks.

Nicky nods. "I'm back with Andie and I have Harper now so it's gotta be."

Cody hesitates before asking. "Then you wouldn't mind if I asked Nina out for dinner tonight?"

Nicky screws up his face. "You like Nina?"

"Why not?" Cody asks. "She's hot, she's fun and she's nice. What's not to like?"

Nicky inhales on his cigarette. "Yeah, that's why I was with her this summer."

"So, would you mind if I dated her?" Cody asks.

"It'd be kind of weird considering I just dated her up until Harper was born."

"You only dated her for a couple of months and besides it'll make Andie feel better if Nina's dating someone. You said Andie was jealous of her, that's why she gave you the hicky."

Nicky nods his head up and down. "Tru dat, dude."

"So, will you be okay with it if I ask Nina to go out?"

Nicky pats Cody on the back. "Do what makes you happy, dude." Nicky throws his cigarette to the ground and stomps it. "Break time's over."

"Thanks, dude." Cody pats Nicky on the shoulder. "I wanted to make sure everything was cool with you before I asked her."

"No problem." Nicky says as they walk back in the studio together.

* * *

><p>Charlotte's feeding Harper on the couch. The doorbell rings. "I'll get it." Cooper walks to the door. "Hello." Cooper lets Leslie and Bruce in the door. "I didn't know you were in town, Bruce." Cooper shakes Nicky's father's hand.<p>

"I would have come as soon as I heard I was a grandfather but I was working a case on the east coast."

"Harper's one month old now." Cooper tells him.

"Can I see her?" Bruce asks. "Nikolas told me he gave her Ava as a middle name after my mother."

"That's right." Cooper leads Leslie and Bruce into the living room.

"May I hold her?" Bruce asks Charlotte.

"Sure." Charlotte hands the baby and bottle over to Bruce.

"She's beautiful." Bruce sits down with the baby on the couch to feed her. "Leave it to my boy to make me a grandfather before I turn fifty-five." Bruce laughs. "He's his father's son alright."

Charlotte and Cooper exchange looks with each other before looking over at Bruce again. They've had issues with Bruce when he lived next door to them.

"She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?" Bruce looks over Harper when he feeds her the bottle. "She has real delicate features."

"We love her." Charlotte nods.

"That's good." Bruce answers. "Leslie said Andie was afraid to tell you she was pregnant. She hid it from you and Nicky until the birth."

"We knew." Charlotte responds. "Andie didn't tell us but we knew."

"A mother always knows when something's amiss with one of her chicks." Leslie smiles at Charlotte. Leslie looks over at Cooper now. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Cooper raises his brows.

"My mother, _your_ mother, would like to meet her first great-grandchild. She bought her this." Leslie hands him a stuffed pink bunny rabbit. "I didn't know how you'd feel about that since you don't want to meet her yourself."

Bruce interrupts. "It's not up to Cooper. It's up to Nikolas and Andie if they want Harper Ava to meet her great-grandmother."

Leslie speaks. "I just thought I would swing it by Cooper."

"This is awkward." Cooper says.

"Why don't we leave it up to Andie and Nicky." Charlotte suggests.

"Nicky is fine with it." Leslie tells them. "I already talked to him about it."

Cooper shakes his head. "Andie's not going to be fine with it, she likes to live in denial that they're the slightest bit related."

"As long as the baby is healthy that's all that matters." Bruce plays with Harper's little fingers.

"I agree." Charlotte nods.

Andie walks in the front door.

"Hey, Andie Candy!" Cooper calls out. "How was your appointment with Aunt Violet?"

Andie drops her purse on the table. "I'm sure Aunt Violet will fill you in on the details tomorrow."

"No, no." Cooper shakes his head. "She can't tell me anything."

Andie walks over to Nicky's father who's still holding the baby. "Hi Mr. Poulos. I didn't know you were in town."

"I came to meet my granddaughter. I guess I have you to thank for making me a pop-pop so young."

Andie just stares at him. She's not sure if that's a sincere thank you or a sarcastic one.

"She's a doll." Bruce tells Andie. "You and Nikolas did good."

"Thank you." Andie smiles now, politely.

The door bell rings. Cooper answers it. "Speak of the devil." Cooper lets Nicky in.

Nicky looks at his father holding Harper. "What are you doing here, papa?"

"I came to see my granddaughter. What do you think?" Bruce chuckles. "What are you doing here, Nick?"

Nicky follows Cooper into the living room. He puts his arm around Andie's waist. "I stop by every day to check on my girls."

Bruce looks at Nicky. "Your mother told me you gave her my mother's name."

"Ava is her middle name, papa. Her full name is Harper Ava Poulos." Nicky tells his father.

"I'm not crazy about the name Harper but I'm happy you thought of your grandmother for the middle name." Bruce tells him.

"Andie and I like the name Harper so it's Harper Ava Poulos." Nicky repeats.

"When's the last time the two of you have been out on a date?" Bruce asks Andie and Nicky.

Nicky and Andie look at each other. "I don't know." Andie says. "We went out to dinner for my birthday in the spring."

"But that wasn't a date." Nicky tells her. "We were broken up then. We went out to dinner as friends."

"Then it's been a long time since our last date." Andie tells Bruce. "Why?"

"Here." Bruce pulls his wallet out of his pocket and hands Nicky a one hundred dollar bill. "Take your girlfriend out on a date. It's on me. Go have fun. There's four grandparents here to look after this little one."

Andie looks at Charlotte. "Is it okay, momma?"

All eyes are on Charlotte, waiting for an answer. "Sure, go ahead."

"Okay." Andie smiles. Andie and Nicky walk out the door. Nicky drives Andie's car. "Where should we go?" Andie asks.

"Not Giorgio's." Nicky tells her. "How about sushi?"

"Sounds good to me. But when did you start liking sushi? You would always complain I was eating raw fish whenever I ate it in front of you."

"I like it now." Nicky shrugs. "I had it over the summer when we were touring the east coast. There was this really good sushi place in New York City we would go to."

"When you say we, you mean you and Nina?" Andie asks.

"I mean the band. We would all go out to eat together when we were touring and I learned to like sushi. It's one of my favorite foods now."

Nicky and Andie arrive at the sushi restaurant. The waitress leads them to a little booth. "This place is cozy." Andie tells him as she looks over the menu.

"It is." Nicky looks at his menu.

After they order their food, Nicky tells Andie. "You look good."

"Are you kidding?" Andie screws up her face. "This is a last minute date. I didn't get to fix myself up. I have no makeup on. I don't even know what my hair looks like right now."

"No, I mean you've lost all the baby weight and it's only been one month since you gave birth to Harper Ava."

"Thank you for the compliment but I still have six more pounds to go until I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight. I didn't gain that much so the doctor said it should come off fast."

"You still look good." Nicky says again.

"You look good too." Andie tells Nicky. "But you always do."

The waitress delivers the food. Nicky tells Andie. "We have to figure something out."

"What do you mean?" Andie asks.

"I want you to move into the cottage with me so I can see more of you and Harper Ava."

"Your cottage is too small. It's only one bedroom. At my house Harper has her own nursery. Plus my dad is there during the day to watch her while we're at school."

"But that's only temporary until Harper Ava is old enough to be put in daycare. Then your dad's going back to work fulltime." Nicky tells her.

"What do you suggest we do?" Andie asks.

"I don't know. I just want to be with you and Harper Ava as much as possible. I hate having to go back to the empty cottage at night."

Andie thinks. "Maybe you could stay at my house. We could put a cot in the nursery. You could sleep in the nursery with Harper because my parents would never let you stay in my room, that's for sure."

"Do you think your parents would go for it?" Nicky asks.

"They might if you offer to help out with the night feedings. My parents have been doing them during the week and I do them on the weekends." Andie tells Nicky. "If you tell my parents you'll help out and do one feeding a night and I'll do the other one, this way my parents don't have to get up at night anymore."

Nicky shrugs. "She's our kid. We should be getting up to feed her, not your parents."

"My parents feel bad because I have to be up early for school in the morning but if you do one feeding and I do the other it won't be so bad."

"When does she start sleeping through the night?" Nicky asks.

"All babies are different but the book says they can start sleeping through the night when they're around three months old."

"That means we have two more months of this?"

"Yep." Andie rolls her eyes. "We'll get through it."

Nicky's eyes gravitate to the other side of the restaurant. "I can't believe it." He says.

Andie turns to see what he's looking at. She spots Cody sitting at a table with Nina. "What are they doing here?"

"They're on a date. Cody asked me today if he could ask Nina out to dinner."

"Why would he ask you?" Andie scoffs. "He doesn't need your permission."

"She's my ex, he's my best friend. It's like a code of ethics thing, your best friend doesn't date your ex." Nicky tells Andie.

"That's only if you're not with someone else. It could only be a problem if you were single and there was still a chance of you and Nina getting back together but that's not the case, is it?" Andie asks.

"No, of course not." Nicky assures Andie. "I'm with you. I gave Cody my blessing and obviously he jumped at it." Nicky looks over at Cody and Nina again.

"I'm done with my dinner." Andie puts her chop stix down. "Can we leave now?"

Nicky calls the waitress over for the bill. Before they leave the table Andie runs her foot up Nicky's jeans under the table.

He smiles. "What are you doing, Belle?'

"Trying to keep your attention focused here. You keep looking over at them."

"Sorry, it's just strange to see them out together." He apologizes.

"It is strange that they would come to the same restaurant tonight as us."

"Well, sushi is Nina's favorite food and this is one of the best sushi joints in LA so I guess it's not that weird Cody would take her here for a date." Nicky helps Andie up to her feet.

Andie grabs Nicky's hand. "They might see us walk by on the way out. Should we say hi?"

"That would be awkward. Just pretend you don't see them." Nicky tells her.

"Got it, Nick." Andie walks toward the exit, holding hands with Nicky. Nicky looks straight ahead. He avoids looking in the direction of Cody and Nina's table. Andie can't help herself, she has to check this chick out. She looks right at her as they pass by the table. Nina stares intently into Andie's eyes as she walks by. Andie's a little shaken by it, she wasn't expecting the intense glare. She doesn't know what to make of it. Was it some kind of challenge? Was Nina glaring at her because she had Nicky's baby and took Nicky away from her? Andie looks away now and follows Nicky to the car.


	124. Chapter 124

_**CHAPTER 124**_

* * *

><p>Harper's lying on her back on a purple blanket in the living room. Andie smiles at her baby and she smiles back. Andie laughs and holds a bright rattle above Harper's face. Harper follows it with her eyes as Andie moves it. "You're a smart baby. Do you want your binky?' Andie holds the binky in front of Harper now. The infant coos and moves her arms and legs excitedly." "Good baby." Andie smiles at Harper. "You want the bunny, baby Harper?" Andie touches a stuffed pink bunny to Harper's nose and pulls it away earning her some coos and smiles from the infant.<p>

Noah opens the front door and asks Andie, "Are you the only one home?"

"Just me and Harper, why?"

Noah turns around. "Okay, you can come in Marz Barz." Marley follows Noah in the front door.

"I thought you two weren't supposed to be seeing each other?" Andie asks while holding the rattle for Harper to look at.

Noah ignores Andie. "C'mon, Marz." They walk up the steps.

Andie rises to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business!" Noah calls back.

"Get down here NOW, Noah!"

Noah and Marley turn around. "What's your problem?" Noah scowls at his older sister.

"I don't want you two up in your room alone together. If you want to hang out you have to stay downstairs where I can see you." Andie tells them.

"You're not _my_ momma!" Noah tells her. "You're Harper's momma. I don't have to listen to you."

"Then, I'll call _your _momma at work and tell her you have Marley in your room." Andie threatens.

"What's your problem?" Noah asks again.

"You're almost sixteen. Marley's almost fifteen. I don't want you to end up with a baby like me."

"Why?" Marley shrugs. "You look happy with Harper. You don't seem to regret having her."

Andie doesn't know what to say. She does love Harper but...-" She tries to think how to respond to that.

Noah can tell his sister is at a loss for words. "We're not having sex, Andie, if that's what you're worried about."

"Then why do you need to go up to your room alone?" Andie asks.

"We might as well just stay down here." Marley tells Noah, they walk back down the stairs.

Andie's phone rings. "It's Danielle." She tells them. "Can you keep an eye on the baby a minute?"

"Sure." Marley sits down on the floor next to Harper. "She looks a lot like you, Noah."

Noah shakes the rattle for Harper "Everyone says she's adorable, so yeah, I guess she must look like me." Noah teases.

Andie talks on the phone. "Hey, girlfriend. What's going on?"

"I have big news! I couldn't wait to tell you" Danielle tells Andie. "It's life changing news!"

"Don't tell me you're pregnant?" Andie guesses.

"Nope. Guess again." Danielle smiles into the phone.

"I don't know. Just tell me."

"Lucas and I got engaged last night!" Danielle's voice is full of excitement.

"You're kidding me? I had no idea you guys were even talking about it."

"Lucas totally surprised me. He made reservations for us to stay in New York City for the weekend. We saw a Broadway show and then he took me out to this Italian Restaurant called Carmines. He put the engagement ring in my wine. I almost drank it."

"Wow. Were you shocked?"

"Totally, I'm still in shock. I can't stop looking at my ring. It's gorgeous."

"Wow! What does is it look like?"

"It's simple, it's a fourteen carat gold band with a round diamand but I love it. Lucas said he's been saving up for it for a while."

"Congratulations." Andie tells her best friend. "When's the wedding?"

"Not until I graduate Yale."

Harper lets out a playful coo at Marley and Noah.

"Is that the baby?" Danielle asks.

"That's Harper Ava Poulos you're hearing. " Andie answers.

"She sounds so cute." Danielle listens to Harper coo on the other end of the phone.

"She's got a voice like her daddy." Andie looks over at Marley and Noah play with Harper. "She's going to be a singer like Nicky."

"I can't wait to hold her." Danielle smiles into the phone.

"When are you coming home again?" Andie asks.

"That's why I'm calling. Lucas and I are coming home this weekend to surprise our parents. They don't know we're coming home and they don't know we're engaged so don't tell anyone."

"You know I can keep a secret."

"Yeah…I knew I could count on you." Danielle laughs.

"Can I tell Nicky?"

"Yeah. That's why I was calling too. Lucas wants to see if Nicky could get us reservations at Giorgio's this weekend for a large party so we can all go out and celebrate the engagement together."

"How many people?" Andie asks.

"Figure Lucas's family, your family, my mom and Sam, Tyler and Allison and about ten other people so about twenty five people?"

"I'll tell Nicky. He can arrange it with the owner." Andie assures Danielle.

Danielle tells Andie. "I'll have Lucas call Nicky with the time and details but don't let my mom or Lucas parent's get wind of it. We want to surprise them."

"You got it." Andie tells her. "I'm so happy for you."

"Give that baby a big kiss from her Aunt Danielle." Danielle tells Andie before hanging up.

"Will do." Andie hangs up before sitting back down on the floor near Harper.

"So, Lucas and Danielle are engaged?" Marley asks.

"I can't believe you were listening." Andie grimaces.

"We were sitting two feet away from you." Noah answers. "We're not deaf."

"You better not tell anyone. Lucas and Danielle want to surprise their parents and you know dad can't keep a secret." Andie warns.


	125. Chapter 125

_**CHAPTER 125**_

* * *

><p>It's midnight, Charlotte and Cooper lie tangled in the sheets. Charlotte rests her head on Cooper's chest. "That was nice."<p>

"It was nice, grandma." Cooper teases.

Charlotte pinches his chest before plucking out a chest hair. "Owww!" Cooper yelps. "You're mean."

"Don't you dare call me grandma after sex again." Charlotte warns. "Or you won't be havin' it."

"Don't get mad at me." Cooper whines. "I'm not the one who made you a grandma."

"_Your _daughter did."

"She's _your_ daughter too." Cooper banters back.

Charlotte rests her head back on Cooper's chest now. "It's nice we don't have to do the night feedings anymore. It was putting a kink in our sex life."

Cooper rubs Charlotte's back and nods his head in agreement. "I wasn't sure about letting Nicky keep a cot in Harper's nursery at first but it seems to be working out."

"It's workin' out great. Nicky _is_ Harper's father. He should be losing sleep not _us_." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"It'll make them think twice about having another one for a long time." Cooper points out.

"They're going to be too tired to think about having sex." Charlotte smirks while rubbing Cooper's chest.

"Nah, they're young. But they better not think about doing it in Harper's room or he's out for good." Cooper warns Charlotte.

"I'm not so sure about _your_ daughter but Nicky has enough respect not to sleep with Andie in Harper's nursery while we're down the hall."

"Hmm…If I didn't know any better I'd say you actually like Nicky." Cooper smacks his lips together while speaking.

"I do." Charlotte shrugs. "He's good for Andie."

Cooper's lifts his head up off the pillow to look at Charlotte, furrowing his brow. "Have you lost your mind, woman? He got her pregnant, Charlotte. There's a baby living down the hall from us." Cooper repeatedly gestures toward Harper's nursery with his pointer finger.

Charlotte lets out a deep sigh before explaining to Cooper, "Nicky thought Andie was on the pill." Charlotte reminds. "_OR_ did you forget that your daughter didn't tell him she hadn't taken the pill in almost a week and had sex with him anyway?"

"Why is she always _my_ daughter when she does something wrong?" Cooper asks.

"Go to sleep." Charlotte rest her head back on his chest and closes her eyes.

* * *

><p>It's almost twelve thirty in the morning. Andie's in the nursery. She lies Harper down in her crib after feeding her. Nicky strolls into the nursery now. "Did I miss the midnight feeding?"<p>

"I just fed her." Andie reaches over the side rail of the crib and gently pats Harper on the back to soothe her back to sleep. "How was Giorgio's tonight?"

"Same ol, same ole'. I tried to get home as soon as I could." Nicky pulls his shirt off.

"It's okay. She woke up a little early. I didn't want her to wake everyone up so I fed her. You're not that late." Andie watches Nicky slip his jeans off to change for the night. She wraps her arms around him. "I missed you tonight."

"I got stuck at Giorgio's. I was talking to the owner about the engagement dinner Lucas wants to have this weekend. You know how, Billy, the owner likes to talk. I couldn't get out of there."

"Yeah, Billy's a talkative guy. I guess you have to be to suceed in that business. Is it all set for the party?" Andie asks.

"It's all set." Nicky plays with Andie's hair before kissing her.

Andie smiles. "I went for my six week post partum check up today."

"How'd it go?"

"Everything was good. I have three more pounds to lose before I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight. Dr. Taylor said that was awesome and I got the okay to have sex again. She gave me a new prescription for the pill which I already took to the pharmacy and had filled." Andie wraps her arms around Nicky's neck and kisses him.

Nicky breaks the kiss and chuckles. "We can't do it here, Belle. Your parents are right down the hall. They'll never let me stay over again if they catch us doing it in Harper's nursery."

Andie takes her hands off Nicky. "So, let's make plans to stay at your cottage this weekend."

He sits down on the cot set up in Harper's room. "I can't wait. It's been so long."

Andie sits next to him. "It's been a lot longer for me than for you. You were with Nina over the summer. I haven't been with anyone since the last time we were together."

"Do you always have to bring Nina up?" Nicky grumbles.

"Sorry."

"So, are you excited Danielle's coming home tomorrow?" Nicky changes the topic.

"Yep, I'm excited for her to meet Harper."

"Aren't you excited about her and Lucas getting engaged?" Nicky asks.

"I'm a little shocked." Andie shrugs. "I wasn't expecting it."

"Neither was Danielle. Lucas said he surpised her. She almost drank her ring after he put it in her wine."

"Danielle told me that too. Lucas took her out to some Italian restaurant in New York City to propose."

"Yeah," Nicky nods. "He took her to Carmine's. It's a nice place and the lasagna is real good." Nicky rubs his belly. "Just thinking about it makes me hungry for some right now."

"You've been there?" Andie asks.

"I went there a few times with the band over the summer."

"You guys spent a lot of time in New York?"

"It was something to do when we weren't playing. We checked out some tourist sites, sampled the restaurants. Nina loved the salads at Carmine's. With all the good food they have, I would get on her case for ordering salad but she said it was amazing. How could anyone refer to salad as amazing?" Nicky rambles on.

"Sounds like you had a good time with Nina in New York?" Andie asks.

"I already told you we were dating and sharing a hotel room. We had to eat too." Nicky sighs again. "Can we please stop talking about Nina."

_"You're_ the one who brought up her eating salad and you teasing her about it."

"Okay, no more talk about Nina. I got the four am feed since you did the midnight feed." Nicky lies down on his cot. "That means I need to get some sleep now. I have an eight thirty class in the morning."

"Okay." Andie gives him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning." Andie walks out of the room. She goes back to her bedroom and climbs in bed. She can't seem to fall back to sleep. All she can do is think about Nicky and Nina having fun touring New York City last summer while she was touring Europe with Danielle, pregnant with his baby.

* * *

><p>Noah and Marley are skyping on the computer. "It's getting late I should get ready for bed now."<p>

"Okay. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Noah tells her.

"Hold on. Don't hang up yet." Marley gets out of her chair. She comes back a minute later wearing only a lacy purple bra and matching panties. She sits back down in front of the computer camera.

"Wow!" Noah's eyes pop at the same time his jaw drops. "I wasn't expecting this."

Marley brushes her hair. "I told you I had to get ready for bed."

"I like your purple bra."

Marley looks at the computer camera. "My mother says not to wear a bra to bed so I'm going to take it off. Close your eyes, Noah." Marely warns. "I'm going to take my bra off now and put my pajama shirt on."

"Okay, I'll close my eyes."

Marley slowly unclasps the back of her bra while she watches Noah's expression on the monitor screen. She pulls one strap down at a time. Noah's heart beats faster as he watches. Marley gives a quick tug and her bra is all the way off, she drops it on the floor.

"Wow!" Noah exclaims on the other end of the computer.

Marley talks to his image on the computer screen. "I told you to close your eyes."

"I did." Noah smiles.

"I saw you. You never shut your eyes."

"Oh, sorry." Noah laughs, still staring at Marley.

"Do you like what you see?"

"I love what I'm seeing."

Marley pulls her pajama top on. "Your turn now."

"What?" Noah screws up his face.

"I took my top off and showed you mine, now show me yours."

"You've seen me without a shirt at the skateboard park all summer."

"I didn't mean your shirt." Marley smirks into the camera. "I meant show me where the sun don't shine."

"For reals?" Noah asks.

"Yeah." Marely nods. "I showed you mine now show me yours."

"Okay, but just a peek." Noah stands up in front of the camera. He unbuttons and unzips his jeans.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Marley laughs and teases him. "Take it off, baby."

Noah pulls off his jeans and t shirt. He stands in front of the camera in just his boxers.

"Rip 'em off." Marley teases. "I wanna see that hard sausage I felt through your pants last week."

"You're just gonna get a peek today." Noah warns.

"I'll take what I can get."

Noah slowly pulls down the elastic band of his boxers, teasing her, he exposes part of himself to Marley.

"Wow! Double wow and super wow. Doesn't it hurt to sit like that? It looks so stiff."

Noah pulls his boxers back up and snickers. He sits back down to talk to Marley. "It's normally more flexible but when you took your bra off it shot straight up."

"Sorry about that." Marley pretends to be sorry, she's not.

"It happens a lot when I'm around you." Noah tells her.

Marley's mouth drops. "Seriously? I make you hard?"

"I thought you already knew that."

"I know I did when we're making out at the park last week but I didn't know I do it other times."

"Sometimes all you have to do is smile at me and I get hard." Noah pulls his t-shirt back on.

"This was fun. We should do this every night." Marley suggests.

"Our parents won't let us date each other anymore but they can't stop us from doing this." Noah chuckles.

"What they don't know can't hurt them." Marley agrees. "But if my mother ever found out she'd take my skype camera away."

"We better make sure she doesn't find out because I want to see the rest of you."

"We'll save that for another day." Marley smiles. "I really better go to sleep now. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Sweet dreams."

Noan laughs. "Sweet dreams." Noah climbs in his bed. He knows who he'll be dreaming about tonight.


	126. Chapter 126

_**CHAPTER 126**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper meet for lunch at the hospital. Cooper plants a kiss on her cheek. "How's work today, Grandma?"<p>

Charlotte pinches his arm until he whimpers. "You never learn, do you?"

Cooper snickers at the pinch this time instead of whimpering.

"I am not _your_ grandma." Charlotte snaps at him.

"Sorry, Harper's six weeks old. I thought you'd be used to it by now."

"The only one who has permission to call me grandma is Harper and she can't talk yet." Charlotte folds her arms and glares at Cooper.

"Okay, okay, you don't need to be so mean. Are you hormonal?" Cooper asks. "Any more hot flashes?"

"Are you looking to get yourself killed today?" Charlotte threatens.

Cooper talks calmly to her. "I know when women go through the changes they get hormonal and it causes them to be moody."

"Shut up, Cooper, while you still have your tongue."

"Ouch. What are you planning to do with my tongue?" Cooper makes a silly face.

"You'll find out tonight after you fall asleep."

Cooper smirks. "That might not be a bad thing. You love what I do with my tongue at night."

Charlotte slaps Cooper in the arm. "Get your mind out of the gutter and eat your damn lunch."

* * *

><p>Dylan and Noah join Lila and Marley in the high school cafeteria for lunch. Noah sits next to Marley. "That was a good show last night. I loved what I saw."<p>

"Me too." Marley smirks.

"What are you talking about?" Lila asks. "I thought you're not allowed to see each other?"

"We're not." Marley shrugs.

"What did you do?" Dylan asks. "Sneak out the window and go to the movies?"

"No." Marley answers. "But thanks for the idea."

"We skyped." Noah tells them.

"So?" Lila asks. "You two skype all the time. What was so great about last night?"

"Never mind." Noah tells her. He doesn't think Lila and Dylan would understand.

Marley changes the subject. "Lucas and Danielle are engaged. They invited my family to Giorgio's tomorrow night for the engagement dinner."

"My family too." Noah responds. "I guess we'll all be having dinner together tomorrow night."

"That rocks." Marley smiles. "I get to see you at the engagement party." She squeezes Noah's leg.

"Are you going to be a bridesmaid?" Dylan asks Lila "Since it's your brother's wedding?"

"They're not getting married until after they graduate college so nothing's planned yet. Lucas promised my parents they'd wait since they weren't happy about the engagement." Lila explains.

"Why weren't your parents happy about it?" Marley asks. "I thought they liked Danielle?"

"My parents love Danielle." Lila tells them. "They just think Lucas and Danielle rushed into getting engaged. My parents don't understand why they couldn't wait until after they graduated to get engaged."

"Maybe she's pregnant." Noah suggests.

"My parents grilled Lucas about it. He insists Danielle isn't pregnant." Lila tells them.

Dylan sips his milk. "Lucas probably wanted to mark his territory with a ring to fend off the competition. Danielle's hot."

Marley laughs. "Like that song. If you like it then you should've put a ring on it."

Lila explains. "My parents don't agree with that. They think Lucas and Danielle should test the waters and date other people before they get hitched."

"Parents these days interfere too much." Noah tells them.

"Yeah." Marley agrees. "They need to mind their own business."

Dylan and Lila chuckle.

* * *

><p>Andie answers the door. "Danielle!" She shrieks reaching out to hug her best friend. When their done hugging Andie drags Danielle into the house. "Come in. We have so much to talk about."<p>

Danielle lets Andie drag her into the living room.

"Let me see your ring." Andie grabs Danielle's left hand. "It's gorgeous. I'm so happy for you." She hugs Danielle again.

"Where's Harper?" Danielle asks. "I've been dying to meet her."

Andie picks Harper up out of her baby swing. She hands her to Danielle. "Meet Harper Ava Poulos."

Danielle cradles the baby in her arms and studies her face. "She's beautiful. I see a lot of your momma in her."

"Yeah. She's starting to change though. My momma says she's going to be tall like Nicky because she has long fingers."

Danielle plays with the baby's tiny fingers now. "They are long and skinny."

"Nicky says she'll make a good piano player. He wants to start her on lessons as soon as she's old enough to sit on the bench."

"Does Nicky know how to play the piano? Danielle asks. "I know he plays the guitar but I never saw him on a piano."

"He can play the piano but singing and the guitar are what he's best at."

Danielle sits down. "Maybe he could get his keyboard player from the band to teach her."

"Noooo!" Andie grimaces. "Not her, she's not coming anywhere near my baby."

"Oh, is that the one he dated over the summer?" Danielle asks.

"Yes. She's not coming near my daughter." Andie's voice is firm now.

"Why do you have such a problem with her? Nicky left her. He's with you now."

"Nicky was completely honest, he told me that he had a great time with her over the summer. They shared a hotel room and toured New York City on their days off. They were real close. The only reason they split up is because of Harper."

"Were they in love?" Danielle asks.

"Nicky says he never stopped loving me but that he was starting to fall in love with Nina too. Then he came home and found out I was still pregnant. Harper was born and Nina ended it."

"Well it's a relief she was mature enough to let him go." Danielle appears to be impressed.

"I'm worried that he's still in love with her. Do you think it's possible to love two people at the same time?" Andie asks Danielle.

"I think it's possible to love a lot people at the same time. You love your parents and your brothers….-"

Andie interrupts. "That's not the kind of love I mean."

"Let me finish." Danielle tells her best friend. "It's possible to love many people at one time but you can only be _in love_ with one person at a time. Nicky may love her but he's _in love_ with you."

"What's the real difference?" Andie asks.

"When you're _in love_ with someone like I am with Lucas you think about them all the time. You can't wait to see them again when you're apart, they complete you. That's the way I feel about Lucas. When you _love_ somebody it means that you care a lot about them like you do your family. You want them to be happy and only good things to happen to them. Do you get it?"

"I guess so." Andie nods.

"So, Nicky probably loves and cares about Nina like he does his mother and sister but he's _in love_ with you." Danielle tells her.

"I guess he'd _have _to be in love with me to forgive me for lying to him about the pill and the pregnancy."

"You need to forgive yourself, Andie." Danielle advises Andie.

"Enough about me, was your mom surprised you got engaged?"

Danielle answers. "She was shocked."

"I bet she's thrilled."

"Not really." Danielle plays with Harper's little hand.

"Why?" Andie asks.

"She thinks we should have waited to get engaged until after we graduate Yale. She thinks we're rushing things and that we should date other people first before settling down."

Andie chuckles. "That sounds like something my dad would say. They must hang out a lot at work."

Danielle complains. "It's not like my mother has lived the perfect life. She divorced her first husband and never remarried. It's not like she ever has had some great steady love."

"What's up with her and Sam?" Andie asks.

"They love each other but Sam never wanted to get married again or have another kid after his divorce from Naomi. They're still real close."

"I guess that's good." Andie nods.

"She's bringing him as her 'plus one' to Giorgio's for the engagement dinner Saturday night."

"Do you mind if I bring Harper along? Nicky's band will be playing there and my parents and Tess will be there. Nicky's mom will be out of town…-"

"Of course you can bring her. She's going to be my flower girl one day." Danielle kisses Harper's head. "Hmm...She smells so good. I love babies."

"Yeah, she's cool." Andie watches Danielle hold Harper.


	127. Chapter 127

_**Authors'note; disclaimer:**_ _Some of the lines from this chapter are from Alicia Key's song *In New York.* I didn't write the lines Broken Spell sings at the engagement party-just borrowed them for this part of the story. =)_

_**CHAPTER 127**_

* * *

><p>It's seven pm on Saturday night. The guests start arriving for Danielle and Lucas's engagement dinner. Danielle wears a tea length white dress with a black sash while Lucas wears a grey suit with a black tie. Andie walks in wearing a green and black wide striped short dress with wedge heels. She's almost down to her pre-pregnancy weight and back to wearing her pre-pregnancy clothes. She pushes Harper Ava in a stroller. The six week old baby's wearing a red dress with white tights and matching soft shiny red shoes. She has a little red bow in her hair. Charlotte and Cooper come in next. They greet Violet and Pete and Sam and Addison at the door.<p>

"Congratulations." Cooper shakes Pete's hand. Pete just nods his head.

Charlotte gives Addison a hug. "Our little girls have grown up."

"Too fast. It went by too fast." Addison returns the hug.

Sam offers. "That's the thing about kids. There always comes a day they leave the nest. You have to let them fly."

"Thanks for those words of wisdom, old man." Pete snickers while patting Sam on the back.

Amelia and Sheldon walk in with Dylan and Sarah. Drew runs over and grabs Sarah's hand. "Sit next to me."

"Okay!" Sarah runs off with Drew.

"Isn't that cute?" Cooper smiles at the six-year olds.

Jolie walk in with Marley, Cole Jr., and Suzie right behind her. "They follow her like she's the mother duck and they're her little ducklings." Cooper comments.

Pete jokes. "Jolie likes to keep her ducks in line. " Pete laughs but nobody else does. He explains, "They're lined up behind her, in line. She's a disciplinarian. Do you get it?"

Cooper crinkles his nose. "Maybe after another drink it'll be funny."

Pete shakes his head while stirring his drink. "You need to grow a sense of humor."

Noah strolls over to Marley and grabs her hand. "Come sit with me."

Cooper watches. "That was a bold move for Noah to do in front of Jolie, considering Noah and Marley aren't supposed to be seeing each other."

Jolie shoots Cooper a glare.

"Look!" Cooper tells Pete and Sam. "Jolie's showing me her horns."

Sam laughs.

Pete nudges Sam. "Why do you think that's funny but you didn't laugh at my joke?"

Sam smiles and looks down at his drink. "I gotta give your boy credit, Coop, He's got guts."

Noah and Marley walk by Cooper now hand and hand. Cooper looks at Noah disapprovingly while shaking his head from side to side.

Noah calls out to him. "We're in a public place, dad. What do you think is going to happen?"

Cooper keeps shaking his head. "What do I do about that boy?" He asks Pete and Sam. "He's deliberately defying us right under my nose."

"Leave him alone." Pete advises. "The more you push the harder he'll push back."

Sam shakes his head. "I hated the teenage years. The teenage years are hard. What is Noah fifteen?" Sam asks Cooper.

"He's almost sixteen and Marley's going on fifteen."

"Maya got pregnant and married at fifteen."

"Charlotte will kill Noah if he gets Marley pregnant and I don't even want to think about what Jolie will do to my son." Cooper looks over at Jolie who does not look very happy.

"Are they even having sex yet?" Pete sips his drink.

"No, that's what we're trying to prevent by not letting them see each other."

"Didn't you ever hear of Romeo and Juliet?" Pete laughs.

Again, nobody laughs at Pete's joke. "Come on!" Pete exclaims. "I'm leaving to find some people with a sense of humor." Pete walks away to find Sheldon.

Jolie strolls over to the bar to order a drink.

"Sorry about that." Cooper tells Jolie.

"I'm not taking my eye off of them." Jolie assures Cooper.

Charlotte sits with Addison and Violet at the bar. Amelia walks up to the bar and orders a ginger ale.

"Are you pregnant?" Addison asks her old friend.

"No." Amelia takes a seat on an empty bar stool next to Addison. She looks at Charlotte. "Charlotte understands there are times in life when you can handle a few drinks and there are times when you need to stay far away from the stuff."

Charlotte nods. "If you need me to go to a meeting with you tomorrow, I can make time in my schedule."

"I'd like that." Amelia tells Charlotte before she takes her ginger ale from the bartender.

Violet asks Amelia. "If you _were_ pregnant who would the daddy be? Cole or Sheldon?"

"I'm not going to answer that." Amelia sips her ginger ale and asks Addison. "So, are you happy Danielle and Lucas are engaged?"

"I'm not doing back flips about it." Addison looks at Violet now. "Lucas is a great kid. I used to change his diapers but Danielle is only nineteen, she hasn't lived yet. I want her to live a little before she makes a commitment to anyone and settles down with them."

"How do you think I feel?" Charlotte joins in. "My daughter is only eighteen and she has a kid already."

Amelia asks Addison. "Is Lucas the only guy Danielle has been with?"

"No." Addison shakes her head. "Danielle was with Tyler before she got back together with Lucas. Tyler was actually the first guy she, you know...hooked up with. That's when I first gave her the pill."

Amelia chuckles. "Like father like son...I guess Tyler is a player just like Cole."

Jolie hears the conversation while she waits at the crowded bar for a drink. "Tyler is _not_ a player like his father. I didn't raise him that way."

"Sorry." Amelia swallows, not realizing Jolie was in ear shot of their conversation.

"Tyler may have Cole's genes and not mine but I raised that child up right since he was four years old. He is nothing like his father." Jolie takes her drink from the bartender and storms off.

"Talk about a women scorned." Violet shakes her head.

Amelia sighs. "I kind of feel sorry for Jolie. She was madly in love with Cole and still may be."

"Takes a lot to tame a wild horse." Charlotte sips her drink. "Cole's a bucking bronco."

"She did have Cole tamed for a long time while they were married." Amelia tells Charlotte.

"That's because you were with Sheldon and were faithful to him." Charlotte readjusts herself on her stool.

Violet asks."So, are you saying Cole was hung up on Amelia the whole time he was married to Jolie?"

"I don't think so." Amelia answers the question for Charlotte. "Cole and I have a good time. We scratch each other's itch but I don't expect anything else from him."

"It's a good thing he had Jolie around to raise Tyler up right then." Charlotte takes another sip of her drink.

Amelia sighs. "I see a lot of Cole in Dylan and I don't just mean looks, Dylan's got Cole's personality. I have a feeling my son's going to be quite a ladies man when he's older."

The groups eyes all focus on Dylan sitting with Lila, Noah, and Marley. The young teens are laughing about something.

Charlotte's the first to say something. "We need to keep our eyes on those four. Those four together spell trouble."

"Don't I know it." Amelia sips her drink and watches Dylan.

"Are they still smoking weed?" Addison asks.

"No." Violet says at the same time Amelia says. "Yes."

Violet and Amelia stare at each other, each wondering if the other one might be right.

Addison chuckles."I'm glad Danielle is nineteen and past the young teenager stage. Those are the hardest years."

"Hard on them and us." Charlotte puts her empty glass on the bar. "And I still got Drew, who I have to go through it with."

"I have Sarah." Amelia raises up her glass of ginger ale.

"Now those two are going to be trouble as teenagers." Violet tells them as she watches Drew and Sarah chasing each other in the restaurant playing tag and knocking into people in wild pursuit of each other. Drew runs into an older gentleman, nearly knocking him over.

Charlotte raises her eyebrows before getting up off her stool to round up Drew. Amelia follows her. "Time to put my mommy hat back on."

Addison and Violet watch Charlotte and Amelia scold their young children

Tess and Chase stand in line to congratulate the newly engaged couple before sitting down at the table next to Andie. "This is going to be fun." Tess takes Harper from Andie. "When does Nicky's band come on stage?"

"Broken Spell will come out when the waiters start serving the food." Andie tells her. "They'll play soft rock while we eat and then some of their original music after dinner that we can dance too."

"Sounds good to me." Tess plays with Harper's soft red shoes.

Andie notices that Tess is wearing the same dress she wore to the junior prom with Chase, the dress Andie wanted but couldn't wear because she was pregnant. "I still love that dress."

"I can lend it to you." Tess tells her. "It'll look good on you now."

"Next party." Andie takes a sip of her water.

After all the guests arrive everyone finds a seat at the table.

Pete calls their attention to the head of the table. "I'd like to make a toast to my son and his beautiful fiancee, Danielle. May you be in love forever. I wish you health, wealth and stealth! To Lucas and Danielle, everyone!" Pete holds his glass up.

The room is full of sounds of clinking glasses and congratulations. Baby Harper is passed around the table from person to person while the waiter passes around plates of surf and turf or stuffed salmon. Broken Spell finally run up onto the stage to a round of applause. Andie keeps her eyes on the keyboard player, Nina.

Nicky stands at the microphone to make an announcement. "Lucas asked us to dedicate the first song *In New York* to his fiancee, Danielle. Lucas took Danielle to New York City for the weekend to ask her to marry him and she said... _YES_!" The young people in the crowd all cheer.

The lead female singer, Jodi, takes the microphone from Nicky. "This is also a special song for our band, Nina, our keyboard player and I both grew up in New York City. Our band had the best time this past summer in New York while we were touring. We're honored to play this song for Lucas and Danielle."

Jodi starts to sing while Nicky steps back and plays his electric guitar near Nina on the keyboards. Cody and the base player are also in the back of the stage.

Jodi sings-

~~~~~~~~~~~~_Oohhhh_... _New York...Oohhh..._ _New York _~~~~

~~~~~~_Grew up in a town that is famous as...Movie Scenes~~~_

~~~~~~~_Noise is all around and the streets are...mean_~~~_If I could make it there... _~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_I could make it anywhere_.~~~~~~~~~~~

Andie watches Nicky on stage next to Nina. Her eyes dart back and forth between them wondering if they're thinking about the time they spent in New York together over the summer. She clenches her jaw tight while watching them intently.

The band continues to play-

~~~~~~~~~_Baby I'm from...New...York_~~~~~~~~

~~~~~_Concrete Jungle where dreams are made ...of..._

~~~~_There's nothing you can't do...Now you're in ...New York! ...New York!...NewYork!_~~~~~~

_~~~~The streets will make you feel brand new~~~~_

_~~~~~~...The lights will inspire you~~~~_~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~_Let's hear it for...New York! ...New York! New York_~~~~~~~

Cooper looks over at Andie's plate. "Aren't you going to eat your lobster?"

"I'm not hungry." Andie pouts. She can't eat. Her stomach is in knots thinking about Nicky and Nina sharing _everything_ together in New York over the summer.

"Can I have it?" Cooper reaches over to grab Andie's lobster with his fork.

Jodie sings-

~~_We're going to make it by any means...We got a pocket full of dreams. Such a melting pot_.

~~~~_On the corner selling rock...Preachers praying to God!_~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dylan laughs and tells Noah, Marley and Lila. "We've got to get to New York one day. We'd have a blast there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Put your lighters in the air everybody say_... _Yeah!...Yeah!..._..Yeah!..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Let's hear it for New York!...New York!...New York!_~~~~~~~

The crowd claps and cheer after the song ends.

"I guess you and Lucas really enjoyed your time in New York City?" Sam asks Danielle. Danielle nods.

"They say New York is for lovers." Pete teases.

That's it! Andie has had enough, she storms up from the table and leaves to use the bathroom. She tries to calm herself down by splashing cold water on her face but now she messed up her makeup. She takes fresh makeup out of her purse and tries to forget Pete's comment about New York being a place for lovers while she reapplies it. Ten minutes later she walks out of the ladies room back towards her table. She notices four men dressed all in black and wearing different colored ski masks storm up onto the stage armed with weapons. She screams!

"Is this part of the show?" Cooper wrinkles his nose, asking Charlotte.

"Let's hope." Charlotte puts her fork down to pay attention to what's happening on stage.

Two of the men grab Nina and Jodi, pointing guns at their heads. The man with the red ski cap grabs the microphone. "Everyone stay calm and nobody will get hurt. We're going to walk around and you nice people are going to throw all your valuables into our bags." He turns to the rest of the band which is Nicky, Cody and the bass player. "Keep playing like nothing's happening."

Nicky tells Cody and the bass player. "Play Wicked World."

Cody tells the gunman in charge. "We need our keyboard player for it to sound right."

"Play!" The gunman tells Nina while holding the gun to her head.

The band starts to play their original song, Wicked World. Nina plays out of key.

The gunman with the blue ski cap jumps off the stage and starts walking around with a bag. Another gunman with an orange ski cap joins him. Harper starts to cry. "Shut that thing up or I'll shoot it!" The man with the blue ski cap points his gun at Harper and yells at Danielle, who's holding Harper in her arms.

"Hey!" Cooper yells and runs over to Danielle and Harper.

Andie runs over to Harper too. "Please don't hurt my baby!" She jumps in front of Harper and Danielle.

Nicky jumps off the stage and jumps in front of the gunman to block them all. "You're sick, man! She's a newborn baby! Don't point a gun at her!"

"Everyone SHUT UP!" The gunman yells at all of them. He aims the gun at Nicky's head now. "You get back up on stage and play your music before I shoot _YOU_!"

Andie yells. "Do what he says, Nick!"

"Yeah, listen to red." The gunman cackles.

Nicky resumes his position on stage while the gunmen collect valuables in their sacs. Danielle crawls under the table trembling and still clutching Harper tight in her arms. She meets Sheldon who's hiding under the table with Sarah and Drew. "Shhh!" Sheldon tells Danielle. "Try and keep the baby quiet."

After the gunmen are satisfied they've collected enough valuables, they climb back on to the stage. The gunman with the red ski cap speaks into the microphone. "Thank you very much. You've all been nice and cooperative. We'll be on our way now. We ask that you refrain from calling the cops until we have a ten minute head start."

The man in the blue ski cap pulls Nina up from her bench. "I want to keep this one as a trophy." He pulls Nina by the arm. Nina screams. "Let go of me!"

"Get your hands off her!" Cody yells at the gunman. Nicky surprises the gunman and jumps him from behind. The gunman manages to turn around and shoot Nicky in the abdomen. _**P**__**OP **_the gun goes off. Everyone screams.

"Let's go! NOW! Leave the girl." The main gunman yells out to the others. They scramble off the stage.

Andie, Cooper, Charlotte, Pete and Sam all run up on the stage to help Nicky. Nina leans down next to him. "Please don't die." She cries. "I still love you, Nick." Andie looks over at her but she's too worried about Nicky to process it.

"Where's Drew and Harper?" Cooper asks Charlotte while they kneel down to check out Nicky's abdominal wound.

"Hiding under the table with Sheldon, Sarah and Danielle."

"Good." Cooper's relieved. "What about Noah and Chase?"

"I don't know." Charlotte checks Nicky's wound and his pulse. "Give me your jacket, Coop, I need to put pressure on this wound."

Cooper pulls off his jacket and places it over Nicky's bloody abdomen while he looks around the chaotic restaurant to make sure his sons are okay.

Pete pulls off his jacket and places it over Nicky to keep him warm. Charlotte and Sam check Nicky's pulse and breathing.

Suzie runs up on stage. "My brother! Please save my brother!"

Nicky drifts in and out of awareness. He gazes at Andie and Nina both at his side. He glances at Charlotte, Cooper and Sam as they try to save his life. His eyes drift over to his younger sister who's screaming his name.

"Get her out of here!" Pete tells Cole Jr, referring to Nicky's sister Suzie.

One of the gunmen drops his sack of goodies on the floor in his rush to make a get a way. He stops to pick up all the valuables that fell out and notices Violet on her mobile phone calling for help. "You were supposed to turn that in, Lady, and you were supposed to wait ten minutes to call the cops! That's two strikes!" _**POP! **_The gunman shoots Violet in the chest.

"MOM! NO! MOMMY!" Lila screams and runs to her mother. "HE SHOT MY MOTHER! Lila screams as loud as she can to the crowd of doctors on the stage helping Nicky.

Lucas yells to Pete. "Dad! They shot mom!"

The owner of Giorgio's walks in the door. "What the hell is going on in here!"

**POP! **The gunman shoots him in the chest as he runs out of the restaurant. People are screaming and running all over the place now.

Pete and Cooper hop off the stage and rush to Violet's side. Lucas tries to calm his mother down while Pete and Cooper stop the bleeding.

"You're going to be okay, mom. We've got doctors all around to help you."

Violet squeezes Lucas's hand with tears in her eyes.

Sam and Charlotte work on stabilizing Nicky and trying to stop the bleeding while Andie holds one hand of Nicky's hands and Nina holds the other.

Jolie and Addison perform CPR together on the owner of Giorgio's while Amelia puts pressure on his chest wound.

Danielle hides under the table, trembling, clutching Harper tight in her arms. Drew and Sarah hide with Sheldon. Sheldon has his arms wrapped protectively around the two young scared children. "It's going to be alright." Sheldon tells the six-year olds. "I think the bad men are gone now."

"But they shot people." Drew tells Sheldon. "I heard the gun shots. I'm scared they shot my momma and dad."

"No." Sheldon tells him. "It wasn't your momma or dad."

"I think they shot Nicky." Sarah tells Drew. "They didn't shoot my mom or your momma."

Drew hugs Sheldon and Sarah tight. Danielle cries as she listens to them talk while she cradles Harper, still afraid to come out from under the table in case then gunmen come back. She wouldn't put it past these evil men to shoot a baby. They appear to be trigger happy.

Chase and Tess jump onto the stage to help Charlotte and Sam with Nicky.

Marley, Lucas, Dylan and Cole Jr take both Lila and Suzie, who are screaming hysterically, outside the restaurant to try and calm them down.

"He shot my mother! He shot my mother! Lila screams. Dylan hugs her as she cries in his arms for Violet.

Suzie cries in Cole Jr's arms. "Please let them save Nicky. I need my big brother."

The group of youngsters hear the police sirens approaching. "Thank God." Marley tells Noah.


	128. Chapter 128

_**CHAPTER 128**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte called ahead so there's a cardio-thoracic team waiting fot Violet's ambulance to arrive. Sam had the day off so Dr. Johnson and his team wait for the ambulance and are ready to operate immediately. Charlotte and Sam ride in the ambulance carrying Nicky while Addison and Pete ride in the ambulance carrying Violet. Cooper follows close behind in his car with Andie, Danielle, Lila and Lucas riding with him. Danielle is still clutching baby Harper in her arms. Amelia drives Marley, Dylan and Noah in her car while Sheldon takes Sarah and Drew home. Addison pronounced the owner of Giorgio's dead at the scene. The two ambulances pull up to the ER at the same time. Charlotte's dress is all bloody from her attempts to stop Nicky from bleeding to death from the gunshot wound to his abdomen. Sam tells the staff that he needs an OR room immediately for Nicky. He needs to open his abdomen and repair the damage. Amelia agrees to help Sam operate on Nicky. They scrub in together while the nurses prepare Nicky for surgery.<p>

Andie paces in the waiting room. Nina grabs her arm. "Where's Harper?" Nina asks Andie.

"She's with my friend Danielle. Everyone had to hand over their phones to the gunmen so I can't call her and she can't call me."

Chase and Tess run into the waiting room next. "How's Nicky?"

"They just rushed him into the operating room."

Tess hugs Andie. "He'll be okay. He knows he has to pull through this for you and Harper."

Nina looks on.

Lucas and Lila walk down the corridor of the ER looking for where the paramedics took Violet. "I'm scared." Lila tells her older brother. "Please tell me mom will be okay, Lucas."

Lucas can't make any promises, Violet was shot in the chest. "We need to stick together. That's what mom would want right now."

"Okay." Lila is aware Lucas dodged out of telling her their mother would be okay which scares her more.

They look for Pete and find him in a waiting room. "How's mom?" Lucas asks first.

"They kicked me out of her room." Pete rubs his head and looks at his kids. He's going to be honest with them. "Your mother has a collapsed lung from where the bullet went through. They need take her to the operating room to stop the bleeding."

"Is she going to make it?" Lucas asks.

Pete answers, honestly. "I don't know." He hugs Lucas and Lila at the same time. "Say a prayer that your mother makes it through the surgery." Lucas and Lila worry even more now. They've never known their father to be a religious man.

"What are they waiting for?" Lila asks. "Why don't they just take her in the operating room now to stop the bleeding?"

"They're giving her blood transfusions and trying to stabilize her first or she won't tolerate the operation."

Meanwhile Dr. Johnson's team works on Violet in a trauma room. "What can I do to help?" Addison runs into the room. "She's a good friend of mine."

"We got it covered." Dr. Johnson tells her.

"I want to help." Addison insists. "I need to help. I can't just sit around and wait."

Dr. Jonson is familiar with Addison as a colleague at St. Ambrose "You can observe, Montgomery."

Charlotte calls into the room. "OR 2 is ready whenever you are, Jonhson."

"Okay, let's get her in the OR." Dr. Johnson tells his team. Addison walks beside the stretcher.

Charlotte rushes into Nicky's operating room now. "How's he doing?" She asks Sam and Amelia.

Amelia answers while Sam operates. "His spleen was perforated. We had to remove it. The bullet grazed his liver too. Sam's repairing it now and then we should be out of here if all goes well. How's Violet?"

Charlotte answers, out of breath. "The bullet punctured Violet's right lung. She's lost a lot of blood. Dr. Johnson's team is taking her to the OR now."

"Tell Johnson I'll join him and his team to operate on Violet as soon as I'm done here." Sam tells Charlotte. Sam is also a thoracic surgeon.

"I'm on my way there now."

"I'll be as fast as I can." Sam tells Charlotte.

"Don't rush in here. My granddaughter need her father in one piece." Charlotte watches as Sam operates on Nicky's liver.

"I can close up here so you can get to Violet." Amelia offers.

"Let me finsih repairing his liver and you can close him up." Sam tells Amelia.

Sam asks Charlotte. "How's Pete holding up?"

"His wife was just shot. He wants to help but he's in no shape. I told him to stay in the waiting room with his kids." Charlotte leaves the operating room to check on Violet.

Andie spots Charlotte coming out of the OR. "How's Nicky?"

"Sam had to remove his spleen. The bullet hit his liver. Sam's repairing it now." Charlotte tells her.

"Is he going to be okay, momma?" Andie asks. Her whole body is trembling.

"Sam's one of the best at what he does." Charlotte tells her as she rushes off to check on Violet.

Andie walks back in the waiting room where Nina is sitting with Tess and Chase.

"I feel responsible for Nicky getting shot." Nina tells them. "He jumped that guy to save me."

"It's not your fault." Tess puts her hand on Nina's shoulder. "It was Nicky's choice to jump the gunman. You didn't tell him to do that."

"But still." Nina says. "I feel responsible because he got shot trying to save me."

"Nicky would have done it to save anyone!" Andie snaps. "That's the kind of guy he is. There was nothing special about you! He would have done it for anyone!"

Chase hugs his sister. "Calm down, Andie Candy. I know you're scared but you heard momma, Sam's the best. Nicky will be okay."

Charlotte rushes into Violet's OR room. Addison's standing by while Dr. Johnson and his team begin to operate. "How is she?" Charlotte asks.

"Her blood pressure is touch and go. They're going to hang more blood on her, hopefully it'll help." Addison tells Charlotte.

"I need something to tell Pete." Charlotte looks around the OR. "Anyone got anything good to say?"

Nobody answers.

Charlotte walks back out of the OR.

Jolie spots Charlotte in the hall. "What can I do to help?"

"You're a plastic surgeon." Charlotte's responds. "If anyone need a nose or boob job I'll be sure and call you."

Jolie walks away.

Cooper approaches Charlotte. "That was mean, Chief, she just wants to help, we all do. We're all so helpless right now."

"You could help, Coop, by sitting with Pete and his kids."

"How's Violet?" Cooper asks. "Is she going to make it?"

"I don't know, it depends on how things go in the OR. Addison's observing Johnson and his team operate."

"Where's Sam?"

"Operating on Nicky with Amelia. He's gonna join Johnson when he's done patching up Nicky's liver."

"This is crazy." Cooper scratches his head.

Charlotte puts her hands in the pockets of her labcoat. "Where have you been?"

"Looking for Drew and Noah. I wanted to make sure they were safe and since everyone handed over their phones it been hard finding...-"

"Did you find them yet?"

"Sheldon finally picked up his home phone. He took Drew to his house with Sarah. Too bad Violet held on to her phone." Cooper shakes his head. "That phone call nearly got her killed."

"The poor kids must be traumatized." Charlotte sighs.

"We've all been traumatized." Cooper answers.

"Did you find Noah?"

"One of the nurses told me they saw him here with Marley and Dylan a few minutes ago. They probably went to look for Lila." Cooper tells

"Where's Harper?" Charlotte asks.

"Danielle had her last. I'm looking for them now."

"Okay, you go find Danielle and Harper. I'm going to back to check on Violet in the OR. I need something good to tell Pete." Charlotte walks off.

Cooper sets out in search of Danielle and Harper. He finds them sitting alone in the first waiting room he encounters. "How's Harper?"

Danielle's feeding the baby a bottle. "She's okay. I don't think she understands what's happening. I need to find Lucas." Danielle hands Harper to Cooper. "He's probably freaking out over his mother getting shot."

"We all are." Cooper wipes his sweaty brow with one arm while he holds onto Harper with the other. "Do you know where Andie is?"

"Probably waiting outside whatever OR they took Nicky into. He was in bad shape. Is it true the owner of Giorgio's died of his gunshot wound?"

"Yep." Cooper nods. "Addison pronounced him dead at the scene. She tried CPR on him with Jolie and Amelia but it wasn't going to help. His wound was too severe."

"My engagement party turned into a disaster. Lucas and I invited all these people to their doom."

"You and Lucas are not responsible for any of this." Cooper advises Danielle. "The only people responsible are those gunmen."

"I better go find Lucas." Danielle wipes a tear.

"Okay, you go then." Cooper steps into the hall with Harper in search of Andie now. "Let's go find your momma, peanut."

Danielle passes by Andie's waiting room first. She spots Andie sitting in a chair next to Tess, Chase and Nina. "How's Nicky?"

"Still in surgery." Andie rises to her feet. "Where's Harper?"

"Your dad just took her from me. He's looking for you."

"Nicky lost a lot of blood." Andie tells Danielle. "I'm really worried."

Chase pats Andie on the back. "You need to chill, Andie"

Andie hugs Chase. "Harper and I can't live without him. He's a good father. She needs to know that. She needs him in her life." Andie cries. "I need him."

Cooper walks in the waiting room with a crying Harper. Andie rushes up to him and takes her baby. Harper continues to cry in Andie's arms. "She needs her daddy. She loves the sound of Nick's voice. " Andie rambles "She loves when he sings to her before he puts her in her crib for the night." Tears start to stream down Andie's face now.

"Let me try rocking her." Tess tells Andie. "She's scared, she knows something is not right in her world and you're too upset." Andie hands the baby over to Tess

Tess sits down next to Nina, holding Harper. Chase sits down next to his sister and tries to comfort her. Nina rubs the baby's back while Tess holds her. Nicky's best friend Cody and Nicky's sister Suzie rush into the waiting room now. "How's Nicky?"

"He's still in surgery." Nina gets up to hug Cody. "Is this my fault, Cody? Did Nick take that bullet because of me?"

Cody just rubs Nina's back.

Danielle walks into the other waiting room and grabs Lucas. She holds him and lets him melt in her arms. Lila, Dylan, Marley and Noah all sit somberly next to Pete and wait for word on Violet.

"Where's Charlotte?" Pete gets up and paces the room. "She was supposed to give me an update by now."

* * *

><p>Sam and Amelia walk into the waiting room. Andie jumps up "How's Nicky?"<p>

"He's on his way to the recovery room. The bullet tore through his spleen and grazed his liver. I had to remove his spleen and patch up his liver. He lost a lot of blood. He's going to be very weak." Sam explains.

"That's okay." Andie clenches her hands together. "As long as he's alive."

"He's alive." Amelia assures her.

"Thank God." Cody says.

"When can I see him?" Andie asks.

"You can go see him in the recovery room now. Just remember he's going to be weak. Don't make him talk." Amelia tells her.

"I want to go see Nicky too." Suzie walks up and tells Amelia.

"Okay, but only two of you at a time." Amelia tells them.

Andie and Suzie run off towards the recovery room leaving Chase, Tess, Nina, Cody and Cole Jr in the waiting room with Harper.

* * *

><p>Sam and Amelia change into new scrubs before they scrub up again to join Dr. Johnson's team and Addison who are in the operating room with Violet.<p>

"How's she doing?" Sam asks as he enters OR 2.

"She's lost a lot of blood." Dr. Chris Johnson tells him. "We've already transfused her with two units."

"There's the bleeder." Dr. Johnson shows his team. His team works on tying it off.

"Good. Good." Sam observes their work.

"Hold on." Addison points out. "She's got another bleeder over there."

"Her blood pressure is dropping!" The anesthesiologist calls out. "We're losing her."

"Give her another unit of platelets." Dr. Johnson tells the team. "She's got two bleeders now, people."

Sam calls out to Dr. Johnson. "I'll take care of bleeder number 2 while your team works on the first one." Sam turns to Addison. "Help me tie off this bleeder. I'm not walking out of this OR and telling Pete we lost Violet."

Charlotte walks back in, holding a surgical mask over her mouth. "I need something to tell Pete."

Nobody answers again. Charlotte stays to observe. "Come on, Violet, you need to pull through for Pete and your kids."

Sam tries to lighten the mood. "And who's going to laugh at Pete's jokes? You need to pull through for that reason alone."

Addison adds. "And who's Cooper going to gossip with?"

"That's right." Sam chuckles as he ties off the bleeder. "I need you to suction right there, Addison." Sam points out the area. "We got it. Bleeder number two is successfully tied off."

"Some engagement party." Addison says as she suctions blood out of Violet's lung.

"That's one party nobody will ever forget." Sam shakes his head. "As much as we'll all want to."

"Do you think it's a sign that Lucas and Danielle shouldn't get married." Addison asks.

Sam brushes her off. "It was just bad luck that those gunmen showed up tonight. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Dr. Johnson announces that they have the first bleeder tied off now too. Violet's blood pressure is starting to come back up.

Charlotte sighs. "Finally some good news." She leaves the OR in search of Pete.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC and don't forget to Review! =)<strong>_


	129. Chapter 129

_**CHAPTER 129**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte rests her head on her desk in her office while Drew and Sarah draw pictures of what happened at Giorgio's. Cooper walks in her office with coffee.<p>

"What are they doing here?" Cooper looks over at Sarah and Drew sitting on the couch.

"Sheldon needed a break. He had them since the party last night. I told him he could leave them with me in my office. I have a stack of paperwork to get through before I can go home."

Cooper hands Charlotte her coffee.

Charlotte lifts up her head to look at him. "Thank you." She reaches for the cup of coffee.

"Where's Sheldon now?" Cooper asks.

"He drove Amelia home. She was exhausted. She was operating all night between Nicky and Violet."

Cooper takes a deep breath and lets it out. "At least they both made it through surgery."

Charlotte taps her pen on her desk. "The owner of Giorgio's wasn't so lucky."

"There was nothing we could do for him. Addison and Jolie did CPR for fifteen minutes but the bullet tore through his heart. He bled out"

"They need catch those men." Charlotte puts her pen down.

Cooper nods. He looks over at Drew and Sarah. "How about I take you kids home and make a nice pancake breakfast? Then we can all take a nap."

Sarah and Drew look up at Cooper and nod. Cooper looks at the pictures they're drawing. Drew's picture shows four gunmen dressed in black shooting people. Sarah's picture shows three people lying on the ground covered in red crayon. Cooper looks at Charlotte.

"Sheldon told them to draw what they saw. He says it's therapeutic."

Cooper shakes his head. "Where's Harper? I'll take her home too."

Charlotte sips her coffee. "Andie wants to bring Harper in to see Nicky. I'll bring her home after that."

"She should be home in her own crib, not at a hospital." Cooper tells Charlotte.

"Andie thinks if she brings Harper in to see Nicky it'll help him heal faster."

Drew and Sarah each give Charlotte a kiss goodbye. Cooper takes them each by the hand and walks them out of Charlotte's office.

* * *

><p>Pete sits by Violet's hospital side. Violet's hooked up to a ventilator. Her chest tube is filled with blood coming from her right lung. Lila walks in the room. "Is she going to be okay, daddy?"<p>

Pete nods. "Give your mom some time. She needs to get stronger."

"It's not fair." Lila tells Pete. "Why did they shoot mom? Why did they have to shoot mom?" Lila cries.

"There are bad people in the world, Lila bear."

"But why _my _mother? Why did they have to shoot mom?"

Pete hugs her. "Sit down and hold your mother's hand. Talk to her. I'll be right outside the room. I want to talk to her doctors."

"Okay, daddy." Lila sits next to Violet and grabs her hand. "It's Lila, mom. Can you hear me?"

Violet lies still. The ventilator pumps breaths into her.

"I hope you can hear me, mom. I know I don't say it a lot but I love you." Lila tries to hold back her tears. "I want you to get better. If you do I promise I'll be the perfect daughter. I won't smoke weed anymore and I'll try to eat better. Please get better, mom. I still need you."

Pete walks back in the room and places his hand on Lila's shoulder. "Your friends are out in the hall. They want to see you. Go be with your friends. I'll stay with your mom."

Lila looks up at Pete and sniffles. She walks into the hall to find Marley, Noah and Dylan waiting. They all join together for a group hug.

"You want to go to the chapel?" Marley asks Lila. "We can all say a prayer for your mom."

"Okay." Lila nods and walks off with her friends.

* * *

><p>Danielle and Lucas are in the chapel along with Andie. Harper's asleep in her stroller. Lila walks in with her friends. "Is mom okay?" Lucas asks Lila.<p>

"She's the same. We came to light a candle for her." Lila and her friends each light a candle and kneel in front of it.

Andie stands up and stretches, telling Danielle. "I'm going to take Harper up to see Nicky now."

Danielle nods. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Andie pushes Harper's stroller up to Nicky's room in the ICU. His sister Suzie is sitting at his bedside. Andie's surprised to see Nicky's awake. "Look at you." Andie smiles.

Nicky answers is a weak raspy voice. "I thought babies weren't allowed in the icu?" He looks at Harper.

"The perks of having your momma as the chief of staff." Andie picks Harper up out of the stroller so Nicky can see her.

"I was so scared when I saw you get shot. I thought you were dead." Andie tells him. "All I could think about was how Harper wouldn't know her daddy."

"I'm gonna be okay." Nicky says in a weak voice.

Suzie gets up from her chair."I'll leave you three alone. I need to call my mom and tell her what happened. She's away on a business trip."

Nicky tells his sister. "Tell her I'm okay. She doesn't have to cut her trip short to come home. Lie a little, Suzanna."

Suzie walks out of the room, looking confused. She doesn't know what to tell her mother now.

"Poor kid." Andie chuckles. "You just asked her to lie to your mother. I don't think that girl knows how to tell a lie."

Nicky tries to laugh but grimaces in pain. "Don't try to make me laugh. It hurts like hell."

Andie puts Harper back in her stroller. "Where does it hurt?"

"Here." Nicky shows Andie his incision. "They had to take out my spleen."

"It's okay." Andie tells him. "My momma says you don't need it anyway."

Nicky tries to laugh again but grimaces in pain again.

"Would you stop trying to laugh, you knucklehead. I wasn't even trying to be funny." Andie gives him a kiss on top of his head. "I love you."

"So much for Danielle and Lucas's engagement dinner. At least nobody was killed." Nicky talks with a weak sounding voice.

Andie stares at him with a serious look upon her face.

"What?" Nicky asks. "Was someone killed?"

Andie nods. "They shot Billy, the owner. He didn't make it."

Nicky puts his hand over his eyes. "He was a good guy. He's got a wife and kids."

"Those guys were ruthless. They had no mercy. They shot Lucas's mom too." Andie tells them.

"Is she okay?"

"She's across the hall. They shot her in the lung. She's in bad shape." Andie tells Nicky. "They're not sure if she's going to make it."

"I guess I was lucky then." Nicky looks over at Harper in the stroller.

"If you call getting shot in your abdomen lucky." Andie takes a deep breath and sighs. "I almost died when that guy threatened to shoot Harper because she was crying."

"I jumped off the stage. I would take a bullet for her or you. You know that, right?"

Andie's eyes start to tear up, thinking how Nicky was shot trying to protect Nina. "I wish you wouldn't have jumped that gunman."

"He was trying to kidnap one of my band members."

Andie nods again. "Nina."

"I would have done the same thing for any of my band members, Andie. I would have done it for Cody or Max or Jodie, too. I'm their boss. I couldn't just watch that guy pull one of them away to their doom. You know what they would have done to Nina."

"You're a good man, Nick."

"So, you're not mad at me?"

"I know why you jumped him but next time think about me and Harper first. You were lucky to have all those doctors who knew what to do right there. If Sam and Amelia didn't rush you into surgery you would have bled to death. Harper wouldn't have a father and I wouldn't have you."

"Sorry." Nicky reaches for Andie's hand.

There's a knock at Nicky's door. "Come in." Cody and Nina walk in. Nina carries in a large bouquet of flowers for him. She gives him a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you."

Cody hand slaps Nicky. "I'm glad you're okay, dude. You scared the crap out of me."

"You're my hero." Nina smiles at Nicky.

"I'm not a hero."

"I don't know how else to thank you." Nina says. "The flowers seem so meaningless. How do you thank someone for saving your life?"

"The flowers are great." Nicky hands the flowers to Andie. "Can you ask the nurse for a vase to put these in?"

Andie looks at the flowers. It's an arrangement of mostly blue sand white carnations with one red rose in the middle. She fills up a plastic cannister she finds in the room with water from the sink and sticks the flowers in it. "This should do." Andie places the flowers on the windowsill and pulls the curtains closed in front of them. Cody watches and lets out a chuckle. Andie opens the curtain back up before Nicky notices.

Nicky tells Nina. "Maybe you can repay us by taking us on a tour of New York the next time our band plays on the east coast. There's still so much we haven't seen yet."

"Deal." Nina smiles.

Harper starts to fuss in her stroller. Nicky tells Andie. "You should take her home. She probably misses her crib."

"I'm not leaving you." Andie tells Nicky while keeping her eyes on Nina. "I'll call my momma and see if she can take her home."

"That was a scene last night." Cody tells Nicky. "I hope they catch those guys fast."

Nicky nods. "Andie told me they shot Billy. He didn't make it."

Cody shakes his head. "Giorgio's won't be the same without Billy."

Nicky shakes his head now too. "This really sucks."

Charlotte walks in the room and takes Harper from Andie. "How are you feeling?" She asks Nicky.

"Lucky." Nicky answers. "How's Dr. Turner doing?"

"The same." Charlotte tells him. "She's in a lot worse shape than you."

"How's Lucas doing?"

"He's doing a lot of praying." Charlotte tells him.

Andie introduces Cody and Nina. "Momma this is Cody. He plays guitar for Nicky's band and he's also Nicky's best friend."

"Hello." Charlotte shakes Cody's hand.

"Nice to finally meet you, Dr. King. I've heard a lot about you." Cody shakes her hand.

"Good or bad?" Charlotte smirks.

"It's all good, ma'am." Cody smiles.

"And this is Nina, the keyboard player." Andie gestures to the slim chick with the long dark hair.

"Hello ma'am." Nina shakes Charlotte's hand. "You have a beautiful granddaughter."

"Thank you." Charlotte tells her. "So, _you're_ the keyboard player?"

"Yes." Nina nods. "I'm the one who Nicky jumped the gunman to save."

Andie sets Nina straight one more time. "Nicky would have done it for any one of his band members."

Charlotte picks up on the tension. "Nicky needs his rest. I'm going to take Harper home now. This is the ICU. We only allow two visitors at a time."

Nicky answers. "I think they lifted the rules for me because you're Andie's mother."

"I'm going to tell them to unlift the rules." Charlotte raises her eyebrows at Nicky. "You need your rest, you had major surgery." Charlotte walks out of the room pushing Harper in her stroller.

Cody hand slaps Nicky. "We can take a hint. Nina and I are going to hit the road. Call us if you need us to bring anything up for you tomorrow."

"Got it, dude." Nicky hand slaps Cody back and smiles at Nina before they leave the room.

"Why'd you get all over Nina?" Nicky asks.

"I'm sick of hearing her call you her hero." Andie grumps.

"You know, you're even cuter when you're jealous." Nicky laughs but then grimaces in pain. "Ugh." He holds his incision area."Remind me not to laugh."

Danielle knocks on the door and peeks in the room."Can I come in?"

"Get in here." Andie greets Danielle with a hug.

"Thank you for taking care of Harper yesterday." Nicky looks at Danielle

"She's a sweet baby. You're lucky to have her." She tells him.

"Andie said you held Harper under the table to keep her safe, thank you."

"No problem. I was shaking when that guy threatened to shoot her. I dove under the table with her after that. Sheldon was under there with Drew and Sarah too."

"How's Lucas doing?" Nicky asks.

"He's a wreck. His mom is still in critical condition."

"Why did they shoot Dr. Turner?" Nicky asks.

"She was calling for help after they shot you. They were mad she didn't give them her smart phone when they asked for all our valuables." Danielle tells him. "I guess she kept it in her pocket."

"Oh geez" Nicky rubs his head. "I hope she makes it."

"We all do." Danielle tells him. "Our engagement dinner turned out to be a disaster." Danielle looks at Andie and asks her. "Do you think that's a bad sign for Lucas and my future?"

"I think it was just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all."

"I hope." Danielle looks at the ceiling and sighs.


	130. Chapter 130

_**CHAPTER 130**_

* * *

><p>Dylan walks into waiting room at St. Ambrose. "Hi." He tells Lila. "I don't know if you want it but I brought you your homework." He hands her a folder full of papers.<p>

Lila takes the homework folder. "Thanks." She looks at a small white box in his hand. "What's that?"

"Fudge." Dylan tells her. "Sheldon made it for your family."

"Sheldon makes fudge?" Lila manages a small smile.

"Yeah, he's taken up the joys of baking since he retired. It's actually really good. Wanna try it?"

"Sure." Lila opens the box and breaks off a piece. She puts it in her mouth. "It's good. Want some?" She holds out the box.

Dylan breaks off a small piece. "Good stuff, so, how's your mom today?"

"They took her off the ventilator this morning. She's still not awake yet. They had to keep her sedated while she was on the vent but now that they took her off she should wake up." Lila breaks off another piece of fudge and eats it. Dylan watches, surprised to see her eating fudge without excusing herself to barf.

"I hope she wakes up soon." Dylan looks in the window of Violet's room.

"Yeah, me too." Lila nods. "I didn't realize how much I still needed her until this happened. I'm fourteen, I need my mom."

"Yeah." Dylan nods.

"You probably think I'm a dork for saying that." Lila looks at Dylan.

"Hey!" Dylan pretends to be insulted. "I have a mom too. I would be the same way if it was my mom that got shot. Hell, I'd probably be worse."

Lila smiles at him. "Thanks for saying that."

"I don't know if this is a good time to ask you. It's probably not with your mom being so sick...-"

"Ask me what?" Lila interrupts him.

"The school's having a ninth grade social next month. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me as... like... my date?" Dylan's nervous. His face is flushed.

"I'd love to go with you as your date, if my mom's doing better by then." Lila tells him.

"Okay then." Dylan nods. "I really hope your mom's doing better by then."

* * *

><p>Harper's lying on her back on her purple blanket in the living room. She's looking up, smiling and gurgling at six-year old Sarah who's sitting on the blanket playing with her. Drew's behind the couch. He holds his hand in a fist and sticks his thumb up with his pointer finger extended straight out in the shape of a pistol. "Shut that baby up or I'll shoot her!" Drew yells at Sarah.<p>

Sarah lies on top of Harper. "Please don't shoot my baby, mister, she's a new one!" Sarah plays along.

"Then I'll shoot you! Bang! Bang! You're dead!" He yells out to Sarah.

"Blech…Help me!" Sarah screams out before playing dead, lying on top of Harper.

Charlotte walks out of the kitchen. "Sarah! Get off the baby!"

Sarah rolls over. "I'm shot, help me." She tells Charlotte before closing her eyes. "I need some of the PCR you do to save dead people."

Charlotte looks at her before she picks up a squirming Harper. Harper starts to cry.

Sarah opens her eyes to tell Drew's momma. "You're supposed to do PCR on me, Dr. King. I'm dead."

"You mean CPR and sorry I can't do it. I'm holding Harper right now. Where's your gunman?" Charlotte asks.

"He ran that way." Sarah points to the stairs.

Drew walks down the steps now with a pad of paper. "Are you the witness, miss?" He asks Charlotte.

"I guess I am." Charlotte sits on the couch with Harper.

"Tell me what you saw?" Drew pretends to write on his pad of paper.

"Nothing, I just walked out of the kitchen and found Sarah lying on top of Harper."

"Momma, she's not Sarah. She's a customer." Drew sighs.

"Enough of cops and robbers. I have to take Harper upstairs and change her diaper before her nap." Charlotte carries Harper up the stairs.

Baby Harper looks up at Charlotte and gives her a big smile.

"Are you trying to win me over, kid?" Charlotte kisses Harper on the nose. "You are too cute."

"We weren't playing cops and robbers." Drew yells up the steps to his momma. "We were playing robbers and customers."

"Well, Harper and I can't play anymore." Charlotte calls back down to Drew and Sarah.

Chase and Tess walk in the door after school. Sarah and Drew jump on the couch. The make their fists into the shape of pistols and point at Tess and Chase. "Get down on the floor and give us all your valuables or your dead!" Drew shouts.

"We're not playing that game, Squirt." Chase walks in.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" That's what you get for not listening!" Drew yells at them.

"Yeah!" Sarah exclaims. "You're both dead! We killed you!"

Tess sits on the couch. "Why do you want to pretend to be the bad guys?"

"Because the bad guys won." Sarah tells her.

Chase pulls Sarah onto his lap to sit. "The FBI is going to catch those bad guys and when the do, they're going to spend the rest of their lives in jail. That's not winning."

Drew sits between Chase and Tess on the couch. "But they could be in China by now."

"It doesn't matter. The FBI is good at what they do. They'll find where they're hiding out, especially in this case." Chase says.

"Why specially this case?" Sarah asks, mispronouncing the word.

"Because Nicky's dad works for the FBI and his dad is going to make sure they catch the guys that shot his son." Chase explains. "Nicky could have been killed."

"I'm happy Nicky didn't die." Drew says. "I like Nicky a lot."

"A man did die." Tess tells Drew and Sarah. "They killed the man who owned the restaurant. He had two children."

"I hope the FBI catches those bad guys fast!" Sarah says.

"Me too." Drew folds his arms against his chest and makes a mad face.

Chase changes the subject. "How would you like if Tess and I took you to the park to play on the swings and they maybe we could stop for ice cream on the way home?"

"We'd love it!" Sarah smiles.

* * *

><p>The nurses settle Nicky into his new bed on the the east wing. Andie tacs photo's on the wall in his new hospital room of Nicky, herself and Harper. One the nurses come over to look at the pictures. "What a beautiful family! The baby looks just like Dr. King." The nurse comments.<p>

"That's what everyone says."

"Maybe the next one will look like me." Nicky teases from his hospital bed.

"That's not happening for a few more years." Andie announces to the room.

"Hit the call button if you need anything." The nurses tell Nicky as they walk out the door.

Andie sits down next to Nicky on his hospital bed. "We're finally alone."

"It feels good to be out of the ICU." Nicky yawns. "It's a step closer to going home."

"I'll stay at the cottage to help you out when they spring your ass from this joint."

Cooper walks in the room. "Watch your language, Andie Candy."

"Sorry, daddy. I didn't know you were there."

"Hmm..." Cooper nods his head. "What else to you do when you think I'm not around?" Cooper thinks. "Never mind I asked that."

Nicky chuckles.

"What's this about you staying at Nicky's cottage when he's released?"

""Nicky's going to need help when he goes home, daddy."

"I'll be okay." Nicky tells her.

Cooper talks to Nicky now. "You'll stay with us. You can stay in Andie's room. Andie can sleep on the cot in the nursery until your incision heals."

"Really, daddy?" Andie beams with excitement. "Nicky can stay at our house?"

"I'm not a monster." Cooper tells them. "And I'm not the enemy either."

Andie hugs Cooper tight. An older woman walks into the room with a shopping bag full of presents. Andie lets go of her grasp on Cooper to get a good look at the woman. She recognizes her right away.

"Hello." The older woman says to them all. Cooper studies the older woman's familiar face. His gaze meets a set of familiar eyes.

The woman walks over to Nicky. "How are you Nikolas?"

"Much better, grandma."

That confirms it for Cooper. He can't help but stare at the older woman.

"Your mother called to tell me what happened. I wanted to visit earlier but they wouldn't let me visit you in the ICU." She explains.

"It's okay, grandma. I didn't expect you to come."

"Of course I'm going to come. You're my only grandson. Well, the only one that I know."

Cooper looks up at the ceiling now, ignoring the comment. Cooper refused to meet his biological mother when Leslie asked him.

The older woman, Susan, continues to speak to Nicky. "Your mother told me that you were a hero. She said you jumped on a man with a gun to save a young lady." Susan looks at Andie. "Is this the young lady you saved?"

"No." Nicky tells Susan. "But I would have if she needed saving. She's my baby mama."

Andie looks at Nicky. "I hope that's not the only reason."

Nicky screws up his face. "Of course it's not, Belle, you know that."

Susan speaks now. "Your grandfather, Michael, would do the same thing. That was the type of man he was. It must be in the genes."

Nicky decides this would be a good time to introduce everyone. He looks at Susan and asks her. "Grandma, do you remember my girlfriend, Andie?"

"Yes." Susan responds. "I remember catching the two of you knecking in your car in the driveway almost two years ago." Susan talks to Andie now. "I sent you home because you were only sixteen and Nikolas was nineteen. I asked you if your parents knew you were with an older boy."

Andie shakes Susan's hand. "I remember that."

Nicky tells Susan. "And this is Andie's father, Cooper Freedman."

Susan smiles fondly at Cooper. "Nice to meet you. I'm Susan Morgan. Nicky's mother, Leslie, is my daughter."

Cooper looks up at the ceiling while he responds with his hands joined together behind his back. "I know Leslie. She told me the story of how you two met."

"I see." Susan nods.

Cooper looks over at Andie. "I'm going to visit your Aunt Violet now." He turns to Nicky. "Excuse me."

"I'll come with you, dad." Andie turns to tell Nicky. "I'll be back later."

"I'll be here." Nicky smiles. "I'm not going anywhere."

Andie follows Cooper out of the room. Cooper turns to tell Andie. "You don't need to follow me. You could have stayed and visited with them."

"I want to see Aunt Violet and I should really check on Lucas and Danielle."

Cooper stops short to ask Andie."Why didn't you want to stay in the room with Nicky's grandmother?"

"Same reason that you didn't."

Nicky apologizes to Susan. "I'm sorry. They're usually not that rude."

"I understand." Susan tells Nicky." When you put a child up for adoption, you don't expect to be in contact with them again. I understand how Cooper feels about meeting me. I surprised him by coming to visit you in your hospital room."

Nicky tells his grandma. "Andie wanted to give our baby up for adoption but I couldn't do it. You probably think I'm selfish."

"Oh no, quite the contrary." Susan responds.

Nicky continues. "Sometimes _I_ feel selfish for keeping Harper Ava. I think about how she could have been adopted by a great family who could offer her a lot more than I can. I'm in college and my band is just getting started but I have big plans for the future."

"I don't think you're selfish, Nikolas. I didn't want to give your mother or Cooper up either."

"Then why did you?"

Susans starts, "I was pregnant in the late 1960's. It wasn't socially acceptable to be a single pregnant teenager back then. I was a scarlet letter. My parents were ashamed of me. People would gawk and gossip if I went out in public so I stayed in the house and my parents arranged the adoption." Susan continues. "My parents thought they were protecting me. Back then if you were a pregnant young woman you either married the fellow or you gave the baby up for adoption."

Nicky asks. "Why didn't you marry Michael?"

"My parents felt we were too young and it would be a mistake. I was only sixteen." Susan tells.

"What happened to Michael?" Nicky asks about his grandfather.

"I didn't see him while I was pregnant with the twins. My parents kept me hidden in the house and didn't allow him to visit. By the time the twins were born and I gave them up for adoption Michael was with another girl. They ended up marrying and having five children of their own."

Nicky offers. "My mother tried contacting Michael's children but they wanted nothing to do with her."

"Yes." Susan agrees. "Now all your mother has is her brother, Cooper."

"It's sad that my mother doesn't get along with her adoptive parents. She doesn't speak to them anymore. That's another reason I didn't want to give Harper up for adoption. I didn't want her to end up like my mother."

"It is unfortunate that your mother was so unhappy with her adoptive family but Cooper got lucky. I understand he adores his adoptive parents?"

"Cooper's parents are both dead now. Maybe you could still have a shot with him."

Susan shakes her head. "I don't think so, dear. Cooper wouldn't even look at me when I was speaking to him. I do feel bad about Andie because I would love to meet my great-granddaughter."

"Don't worry, grandma." Nicky tells her. "I've got Andie wrapped around my finger. I'll get you in with her. You'll meet Harper soon."

"I brought you these baby gifts for her." Susan pulls some toys and clothes out of the bag.

"Ha, Ha." Nicky laughs. "And here I thought that shopping bag full of gifts was for me."

Nina walks in the room now. "No need to worry. I have something for you." She hands him a small bakery box.

"What's this?" Nicky takes the box from Nina.

"Open it."

Nicky rips open the box. "Tiramisu?"

"It's not as good as the kind we would get at the Italian Bakery in New York but it's close." Nina smiles.

"Thank you." Nicky hugs her. "I love tiramisu."

"I know you do, that's why I brought it up and I figured it's soft so they'll let you eat it."

Nicky turns to his grandmother. "Grandma, this is my friend and keyboard player, Nina."

Susan shakes Nina's hand. "Nice to meet you, dear." Susan tells Nicky. "I'm going to leave and let you visit with your little friend now."

"Thanks for the gifts, grandma." Nicky waves as Susan walk out of the room.

Nina sits in the chair next to Nicky and smiles. "So, now I'm your little friend?"

"Apparently." Nicky chuckles.

"I wanted to thank you again for jumping the gunman."

"You bought me flowers and now tiramisu, what's next?"

"I'd give you a big fat kiss if I wasn't worried about your girlfriend killing me next." Nina rolls her eyes.

Nicky sighs. "Andie's harmless."

"She hates me."

"She's jealous that we had a good time over the summer. Don't worry about her."

"Your baby is beautiful."

"Harper is the greatest." Nicky smiles at a picture of him and Andie with Harper pinned up on the wall.

"Then I'm glad I made the right decision to let you go." Nina looks over at the picture now. "For Harper."

"You're a good woman, Nina. You'll find the right guy one day."

Nina sighs. "I thought I did last summer."

Nicky doesn't know what to say. "Are we going to eat this tiramisu or what?" He feeds Nina a piece. Nina takes the fork and feeds him a piece. "Just like last summer." She smiles at him.


	131. Chapter 131

_**CHAPTER 131**_

* * *

><p>Sarah plays with Drew while she waits for Sheldon and Amelia to pick her up. "Want to play FBI?" Sarah asks Drew.<p>

"Okay, we could spy on Noah like he's a criminal." Drew agrees.

Sarah and Drew hide in Noah's room and play with his games until they hear him coming. "Quick! Hide under the bed." Drew tells Sarah. They both scamper underneath Noah's bed. Noah looks at his comic books for a few minutes before his computer rings. He walks over to his desk and turns it on. "Hi, Marz Bars."

"Whassup, dude?"

"Take one guess."

"Show me." Marley chuckles. "I wanna see it."

"You first." Noah teases.

"You asked for it, you hot stud." Marley pulls off her shirt and then her bra.

"Wow!" Noah exclaims.

Drew and Sarah peek out from under the bed.

"Look! Marley's naked!" Sarah yells out.

"Oh my God!" Drew shrieks. "Cover your eyes!"

Marley quickly pulls her shirt back on over her head. "What are they doing in your room?"

"I didn't know they were in here." Noah tells Marley. "They were hiding under the bed. Get out now!" Noah yells at them.

Drew and Sarah come out from under the bed. "We were playing FBI. We were spying on you." Drew tells Noah.

Sarah looks at the computer. "Why were you naked?" She asks Marley.

"I wasn't naked. I had my pants on." Marley defends.

"We saw your boobies." Sarah tells her. "Why did you take your shirt off in front of Noah? Didn't your mother tell you that you're not supposed to do that in front of boys?"

Marley sighs.

"I'll get rid of them." Noah tells Marley. Noah turns to talk to Drew and Sarah. "It's all good because Marley's my girlfriend. You're allowed to do that when your boyfriend and girlfriend."

Sarah asks. "Didn't you know that you can make a baby if you kiss a girl when you're both naked? That's what Drew's dad told him."

Noah shakes his head. "I wasn't kissing Marley. I didn't even touch her. She's at her house." Noah pulls some money out of his pocket. "Here's five dollars for each of you. You have to promise never to tell anyone about this or else karma will get you."

Drew screws up his face. "Who's karma?"

"It's not a person. It means if you take my money and promise not to tell anyone what you saw and then you go and tell, karma will happen. It means something bad will happen to you."

"Oh" Sarah says. "I don't want karma to get me. I promise not to tell anyone that I saw Marley's boobies." Sarah grabs the five dollar bill out of Noah's hand.

"I promise too." Drew grabs the other five dollar bill and they run off down the hall.

Marley whines to Noah. "I can't believe they saw me. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't worry. I gave them each five dollars and taught them about karma." Noah tries to console Marley.

"We can't do this again. I'm not taking my shirt off over skype ever again." Marley complains.

"Next time I'll check under the bed." Noah tells her.

"No." Marley says. "I'm not taking the chance."

"Then we'll just have to do it in person." Noah suggests.

"That'll be too tempting." Marley tells Noah.

"I'm almost sixteen. A lot of guys my age are doing it already."

Marley tells Noah. "I'm not ready yet. Maybe after I turn fifteen I will be but not yet."

"We don't have to go all the way for it to be fun. I'll meet you at the skate park after school tomorrow and we could talk about it then."

"Okay." Marley agrees. "I have to go. My mom just got home from work."

* * *

><p>Lila sits at Violet's bedside. "Guess what, mom?"<p>

Violet answers in a weak soft voice. "What is it?" She tries to smile.

"Dylan asked me to go with him to the school social next month as his date. I'm finally going to have a date for the social." Lila's excited.

Violet squeezes her daughter's hand. "I'm happy for you."

"I hope you'll be home from the hospital by then. I'm going to need you to help me with my hair and makeup. I've never been good at that girly stuff."

"I'll help." Violet says, her voice weak and just over a whisper.

"I wish you could come shopping with me for a dress." Lila tells her. "It's not the same to go dress shopping with dad."

Violet laughs but then grimaces in pain.

"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to make you laugh." Lila apologizes.

"It's okay, honey." Violet tries to smile.

Pete comes in the room. "How are my two favorite girls?"

"I'm good, daddy. Mom seems a little better today, she's able to talk."

"I can see that." Pete smiles. "Why don't you go out to the car. I'll meet you in a few minutes so we can go dress shopping."

Violet chuckles again and remembers why she shouldn't. She grimaces in pain once again.

"Serves you right for laughing at me." Pete smiles.

Lila kisses Violet goodbye. "I'll take a picture of the dress we pick out with my phone and show it to you before we buy it."

After Lila leaves Pete sits with Violet a minute.

"You look better." Pete tells Violet.

Violet nods at Pete while she speaks in a weak whispery voice. "Getting shot was good for me."

Pete strains to listen. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Things happen for a reason." Violet whispers.

"Maybe." Pete nods. He thinks Violet must be talking nonsense.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper lie in bed. Cooper complains about Susan. "I can't believe she had the nerve to come in the room. She had to know who I was. She knows I don't want to meet her. Leslie already told her that."<p>

"She was up there to visit Nicky. She probably didn't know it was you until she was already in the room." Charlotte defends Susan. "Did you expect her to run back out with her tail between her legs?"

"No." Cooper makes a goofy face. "But…-" He hesitates.

"But what?" Charlotte asks him.

"I didn't expect her to be so nice."

"Why not?"

Cooper shakes his head. "I don't know."

"I don't think you _wanted_ her to be nice. You wanted her to be some miserable old hag."

"Why would I want that?" Cooper scoffs.

"You want an excuse not to like her." Charlotte explains. "Because if you like her then you think you're betraying your parents."

Cooper looks up at the ceiling. "Why do you have to be so smart?"

Charlotte smirks.

"Okay, smartie pants, Cooper asks. "Tell me-what do I do if I see her again?"

"Treat her like you would to any other person that came to visit Nicky." Charlotte advises him. "You don't have to form some great relationship with her but treat her like you would normally treat Nicky's grandmother if she _wasn't_ your biological mother."

"I knew I kept you around for a reason." He jokes. "Did I tell you that Andie ran out of Nicky's room right behind me to get a way from Susan too?"

Charlotte looks at the ceiling now. "Andie doesn't want to get to know Susan for a different reason than you don't want to get to know her."

"Care to explain, genius?" Cooper teases.

"Andie doesn't want to admit that both she and Nicky share the same grandmother, knowing Susan forces her too."

"Ahh." Cooper looks up at the ceiling.


	132. Chapter 132

_**CHAPTER 132**_

* * *

><p>Andie sits next to Nicky on his hospital bed watching tv. "I can't wait until they spring you from this place since my parents agreed to let you stay at my house."<p>

Nicky teases. "_I_ get to sleep in your bed while _you_ have to sleep on the cot in Harper's nursery. I plan on getting my beauty's rest."

Andie tells him. "I'm going to baby you."

"You already have a baby." Nicky reminds.

"Think of me as your own personal nurse." Andie tells him. "I can feed you and give you your bath at night." She raises her eyebrows up and then down again.

"I can feed myself but the bath sounds like fun. I _might_ need you to bathe me." Nicky winks.

Andie laughs before getting serious again. "I can not believe my dad was the one to offer to let you stay with us."

Nicky swallows and holds his incision now. "Before I got shot your father wouldn't even look me in the eye for getting his little girl pregnant."

Andie shrugs. "Maybe he's starting to change his mind about you."

Nicky winks. "I'll get your parents to change their mind about me, little darlin'."

Andie laughs and climbs on him. She leans in for a kiss.

"Owww!" Nicky yelps. "Get off my incision! It hurts!"

"Sorry." Andie jumps off the bed.

Nicky's grandmother, Susan, enters the room. "I don't mean to interrupt but I have something important to talk to you about." Susan tells Nicky.

"Shoot." Nicky responds still holding his hand over his incision, protectively.

Susan sits down in the chair next to Nicky's bed. "My late husband and I were in the restaurant business. We owned a chain of restaurants in Ohio. I sold them after he died."

"Okay?" Nicky asks, wondering why his grandmother is telling him this.

Susan continues. "My husband and I started out with a small restaurant, we didn't have any children so we poured our entire lives into that little place. It did very well and we expanded. After several years of hard work and dedication we managed to own our own chain of restaurants."

"That's great, grandma." Nicky's still not sure why his grandmother is telling him this. Andie listens too.

"I sold the chain after my husband died. We didn't have any children to pass it on to and I didn't want to run it by myself. That was before your mother contacted me."

"I see." Nicky nods.

Susan tells them. "I heard that Giorgio's is up for sale. The owner's family doesn't want to keep the restaurant because he was killed there."

"That's understandable." Andie responds.

"Yes, it is." Susan agrees.

"I was thinking it might be a good investment for me." Susan explains. "Giorgio's has an excellent reputation and it's on the water. I know your band plays there, Nikolas. I wanted to know what you think?"

"I can't make that kind of decision for you, Grandma."

"I'm not asking you to make a decision for me. I just need to know if it would upset you if I bought it, because you were shot there."

"It wouldn't offend me." Nicky tells her "But it may not do as well anymore. People may be afraid to eat there after what happened."

"I don't think so." Susan tells Nicky. "Lightening doesn't strike in the same place twice. People know that."

Andie adds. "It would be better if they caught those guys."

"Don't worry, Belle." Nicky reassures. "My father and his FBI buddies are working on it. Those guys will pay."

"Let me worry about bringing in the business." Susan tells Nicky. "I just wanted to make sure it won't upset you if I buy the place."

"It's fine with me but why do you want to get back in the restaurant business if you've been out of it so long?"

"Old habits die hard." Susan smiles. "And I told you I sold my restaurant chain because I had no family to help me or to pass it on to. Now I do. I have grandchildren and even a great-granddaughter to pass it down to now."

"Okay." Nicky nods. "I'm all for it."

"Your band isn't going to be afraid to play there again after what happened?" Susan asks.

"Not at all. We already discussed it. We were wondering if the new owner would keep us on contract."

Susan smiles at Nicky and Andie. "Damn straight she will."

Nicky and Andie laugh. Sam walks in. "Sorry, to interrupt your fun but I have news."

"What is it?" Andie asks.

Sam talks to Nicky. "Your red blood cell count is rising back to normal. I'm going to spring you from this place tomorrow morning."

"Yes!" Andie claps.

"But," Sam warns. "You need to rest until your incision is completely healed. I don't want you up on stage jumping around or doing whatever it is that you do when you're working a concert."

"Got it." Nicky nods.

"I mean it." Sam warns him. "If you rip open your incision it can get infected and you'll end up right back here on IV antibiotics."

"I got it." Nicky tells Sam again.

Susan asks Sam. "How about if the new owner of Giorgio's requires a doctor's note before Nikolas is allowed back on stage?"

"Who's the new owner of Giorgio's?" Sam asks.

"I am." Susan tells him. "If the family is willing to accept my offer."

Nicky tells Sam. "Meet Susan Morgan, my grandmother."

"Nice to meet you." Sam tells the older woman. "I hope it works out for you. Giorgio's has always been a nice place until...well...-" Sam leaves the room.

Cooper pushes Harper into Nicky's room. "Look who wants to see her momma and daddy!" Cooper calls out. He stops short when he notices Susan sitting in the chair. Susan gazes at the baby in the stroller.

"Oh my!" Susan asks Nicky. "Is that my great granddaughter?"

"Meet Harper Ava Poulos." Nicky tells his grandma.

Susan gets up to peek in the stroller. "She's a precious little doll. Isn't she now?"

"Thank you." Andie looks on.

Cooper takes Harper out of the stroller. "Would you like to hold her?" He asks Susan, his birth mother. This is a change.

The room is quiet for about twenty seconds as everyone is in shock that Cooper actually spoke to Susan.

"I would love to." Susan reaches for the baby. "She _is_ a perfect little doll." Susan tells Andie as she sits down with Harper in the chair. Harper looks up and smiles at Susan. "Oh my goodness. She's smiling at me."

"Consider yourself lucky." Nicky tells his grandmother. "She just learned to smile about two weeks ago. She doesn't smile at many people yet."

Cooper pats Susan on the shoulder. "She must think you're nice."

Susan's eyes begin to tear. "Thank you, dear."

Charlotte walks in the room now. She looks at Nicky first. "I talked to Sam. He told me he's discharging you tomorrow."

"Yep." Andie answers. "And remember you said Nicky can stay in my room until he's healed. I'm staying on the cot in Harper's nursery."

"I remember." Charlotte nods. Charlotte turns her attention to Susan sitting in the chair holding Harper. "She likes you." Charlotte tells Susan.

"Yes." Susan giggles. "I'm Nikolas's grandmother, Susan Morgan."

"I'm Charlotte King, Andie's mother and Cooper's wife."

"Nice to meet you, dear." Susan sticks her hand out to shake with Charlotte. Charlotte shakes Susan's hand before turning to Cooper and smiling.

Susan has a feeling Cooper's wife must be behind his change in attitude.

* * *

><p><em><strong>REVIEW!<strong>_


	133. Chapter 133

_**CHAPTER 133**_

* * *

><p>Cooper's lying on the floor playing with Harper. "Hey dad!" Andie walks over and sits on the floor with them.<p>

"How was school?" Cooper asks.

"It was okay. How was Harper today?"

"My granddaughter's great. She's practicing her exercises." Cooper tells Andie.

"What's that?"

"Watch her go." Cooper's excited at the moment. Harper's lying on her belly. She lifts her head up and bobs it, before her head gets too heavy and she lies it back down. She repeats this a few times with a smile on her face.

"Dad?" Andie complains. "She looks so goofy doing that."

Cooper chuckles. "She's strengthening her neck muscles. It's good for her. I used to do this with you all the time when you were this age."

"Poor me." Andie scoops Harper up into her lap. "Your grandpa is making you look silly, huh?" She kisses the seven week old on the nose.

The front door swings open. Charlotte helps Nicky walk slowly through the door. Cooper rises to his feet. "Look whose home?"

Nicky walks slowly to the couch, holding his hand to his abdomen in the spot where his surgical incision is. "Thank you for letting me stay here." He tells Charlotte and Cooper before sitting down, slowly.

Andie brings Harper over to Nicky and hands her to him. "You up for holding Harper?"

"Don't lie her anywhere near his incision." Charlotte warns.

Nicky takes the baby but holds her away from him, careful she doesn't kick at his wound. "How's my little princess?"

"Where is everyone?" Charlotte looks around the house.

Cooper looks at his watch. "They should be walking in the door any minute from school."

The doorbell rings. Charlotte lets Nicky's father, Bruce, in with an attactive younger man. "This is Jayden Wells." Bruce introduces the handsome young man with the dark hair and piercing green eyes. "He's a rookie on my team at the FBI. He's working on the Giorgio's case. I want him to take statements from all of you."

Nicky complains. "We already gave our statements to the cops, pop. Why can't he just read those?"

"He can." Bruce announces to the group of them. "But I want a fresh perspective. I want Jayden to ask his own questions. Hopefully we'll get some new information so we can catch these guys."

"Who wants to go first?" The handsome young FBI agent with the green eyes asks, looking at the group. His eyes gravitate to Andie.

"I guess I will." Andie raises her hand like a high school student and volunteers.

"Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Jayden asks.

"Follow me into the kitchen." Andie leads Jayden.

Noah walks in the door now. He hangs his book bag up on the hook near the front door. "Hi." He says to everyone before turning around to go back out the door.

"Hold on!" Charlotte calls out to him. "You just got home. Where are you going already?"

"To the skate park to meet Dylan."

"It's going to have to wait a few minutes." Charlotte tells her almost sixteen-year old son.

"Why? I don't have any homework."

Cooper adds. "We all have to give statements to the FBI about what happened at Giorgio's. You can go to the skate park after you give your statement."

"I already gave the cops my statement after it happened." Noah complains.

Bruce tells Noah. "I've brought in a new FBI agent. It won't take long."

"You can go next." Charlotte tells Noah, "since you're in such a hurry."

"How's Marley?" Cooper asks.

"She's fine." Noah answers, defensively, wondering if Drew told him what he saw when they were skyping the other day. "What do you want to know for? It's not like you let me see her anyway."

Cooper responds. "You two are good friends. I figured I'd ask. It's called being polite."

Noah snips. "If you let her come over here, you could ask her yourself."

Charlotte folds her arms against her chest, responding in a firm voice. "Don't get sassy with your dad."

Andie sails out of the kitchen. "Next!" She calls out. "Jayden's waiting."

"You go." Charlotte watches Noah walk into the kitchen. She knows that boy is up to something.

Andie sits back down next to Nicky and Harper on the couch. "I told Jayden to save you for last." She tells Nicky. "He's going to come in here and interview you when he's done with everyone else so you don't have to get up."

Nicky answers, clearly annoyed. "What did you tell the guy? That I'm an invalid? I can get up and walk into the kitchen."

Bruce corrects his son. "Andie's looking out for you. Appreciate it. Don't get mad at her for it."

Nicky responds to his father. "Harper's the baby, not me."

"You were shot, Nicky, you almost died." Andie gives Nicky a kiss on the cheek. "Let us take care of you."

Drew runs in the door. "I'm home!" He drops his backpack on the floor.

"Hey Squirt." Charlotte gives him a hug and kiss.

Drew runs toward the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Cooper asks.

"I'm hungry, I need a snack!" Drew calls back.

"The FBI is in there interviewing Noah about the shooting." Charlotte tells him. "You'll have to wait."

"Cool!" Drew exclaims. "I want them to interview me."

"You can go next." Charlotte tells Drew.

Noah walks out of the kitchen. "Next!" He calls out. Drew bounces into the kitchen.

"I'm going skate boarding with Dylan now." Noah lies, before walking out the front door to meet Marley at the skate park.

Tess and Chase pass him on their way in the door. "Hey Nicky! They finally sprung you from St. Ambrose!" Chase walks over to the couch and hand slaps Nicky.

Tess takes Harper from Nicky. "How's my sweet angel?" She kisses the smiling baby.

Bruce looks on. "That baby has a lot of people looking out for her. She's a lucky kid."

Drew comes running out of the kitchen. "Jayden says to send in the next person."

"Who's Jayden?" Chase asks.

"He's one of my new agents." Bruce tells Chase. "I want him to reinterview everyone to see if we can get a fresh lead."

Tess shrugs. "I'll go." She hands Harper back to Nicky. Harper smiles at her daddy before spitting up on her shirt. Andie pulls the dirty shirt off. She asks Drew. "Can you go up to the nursery and get Harper a new shirt?"

"Yeah." Drew tells Andie. "Girls need to wear shirts all the time. They're not like boys. Girls shouldn't show their boobies."

Charlotte screws up her face. "What are you talking about, Squirt?"

Drew looks at his momma. "Girls can't show their boobies like boys can. They always have to wear a shirt."

Bruce and Cooper look at each other and chuckle.

Andie tells Drew, annoyed. "She's a baby! She can go shirtless. I just don't want her to be cold."

Drew explains. "But when she's a teenager, she can't go shirtless because girls grow boobies. You'll need to make sure she doesn't take her shirt off then unless it's for her boyfriend, then she can."

"Who told you that?" Charlotte shoots Drew a disapproving look. Cooper tries to contain his laughter.

Drew tries to think, quickly. He can't say anything about Noah because of the karma Noah told him about.

"I asked you who told you that?" Charlotte repeats herself.

"Um….Sara told me that." Drew lies. "She's a girl so she knows about that."

"Why would Sarah tell you something like that?" Charlotte grimaces. "She's six years old for Pete's sake."

"Probably something to do with Dylan." Chase tells Charlotte. "Dylan is fifteen. She probably learns that stuff from him."

"I s'pose."

Drew runs up the stairs to get Harper's shirt since his momma seems to believe him. "Phew! That was close. I almost got the karma." He says to himself as he runs in the nursery in search of a baby shirt.

Tess breezes out of the kitchen. "Jayden says to send in the next lucky person."

"Why are we lucky?" Chase asks.

Tess just shrugs.

"I'll go." Chase stalks into the kitchen.

Tess sits on the couch next to Nicky who's still holding Harper. Andie is on the other side of Nicky.

"How did your interrogation go?" Andie asks Tess.

"Too fast. I could have stayed in there longer." Tess pretends to fan herself. "I can stare into those green eyes all day."

"Don't let Chase hear you say that." Charlotte warns Tess with a smile.

"Oh no, Dr. King. My heart belongs to Chase, he's not the jealous type at all. It wouldn't bother him to hear me say that about Jayden." Tess tells Charlotte.

"Chase takes after his dad." Cooper jokes.

Andie joins in. "Jayden _is _hot and he has the best eyes."

"I was staring at them the entire time." Tess giggles. "I never saw such bright green eyes before. They're rare."

"I know." Andie laughs. " I couldn't stop looking at them."

Nicky shrugs. "He probably wears tinted contacts. They make those things in all kinds of weird colors."

"Still." Andie says. "They're pretty to look at."

"Did you see his six pack?" Tess asks Andie.

"Yeah, he told me he was hot so he took his shirt off." Andie laughs.

"Is this guy supposed to be a professional, pop?" Nicky asks his father.

"He's very professional." Bruce answers.

"Then why's he showing off his six pack to the girls he's supposed to be interviewing?" Nicky scoffs.

"He was wearing a t-shirt." Andie chuckles at the thought Nicky might be jealous. She's never given him a reason to be jealous before and this is fun. "It's not like he was bare chested, now that would have been eye candy."

"What kind of dudes do you have working for you, pop?" Nicky shakes his head. "He's supposed to be interviewing people, not showing off his abs."

"I'm sure he didn't do it intentionally." Bruce tells Nicky. "He's probably just hot."

Cooper chuckles.

"Oh, so he just happens to take his shirt when he interviews the pretty girls?" Nicky scoffs at his father.

Andie responds. "Jayden told me he was hot."

Tess snickers. "He is hot."

Nicky slowly rises up to his feet. "I'm going upstairs. I want to rest. There's too much noise down here."

"Do you need help getting up the stairs?" Andie asks him.

"I'm not a friggin' invalid!" Nicky snaps.

"Okay." Charlotte shoots Nicky a look. "There's no need for that." Charlotte walks over to help Nicky up the stairs, seeing that he could use some assistance.

"I don't know what you're cranky about, Nick, we're just trying to help you." Andie calls out as she watches Charlotte help him walk up the stairs.

Drew comes running down the stairs in the opposite direction.

"Careful Drew. You almost knocked Nicky over!" Charlotte calls after Drew.

Drew brings Andie a yellow baby shirt with a green frog on the front. "Here you go. Cover up her boobies." Drew tells Andie.

"She doesn't have boobies. She's only a baby!" Andie snaps at her little brother.

"Leave him alone, Andy Candy," Cooper defends Drew. "He's only six years old, himself. Give the kid a break."

"Yeah." Drew tells Andie. "Give me a break or you're going to get karma."

Andie pulls the shirt over Harper's head and hands the baby to Tess. "Do you mind holding her? I want to check on Nick."

"No problem." Tess plays with the baby.

Andie walks upstairs into her room as Charlotte is walking out. "Keep the door open." Charlotte tells her. "I don't want any funny business going on while Nicky's stayin' in your room."

"I know that, momma. Besides, look at Nicky. He can barely walk without being crunched over. What would we even be able do?" Andie tells Charlotte.

"Okay." Charlotte smirks and walks back downstairs.

"Thanks a lot!" Nicky snaps at Andie.

"What do you mean?" Andie sits on the bed next to him. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Why?" Nicky asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, why?" Andie asks.

"You sat down there with Tess and went on about the hot new guy from the FBI right in front of me, _then_ you talk to your mother about me like I'm some hunched over old lady." Nicky complains.

"Well, it's true."

"What the hell?" Nicky scowls at Andie.

"No." Andie defends. "I don't mean you look like a hunched over old lady but you just had major surgery last week. You're in pain. It's okay. I'm happy to have you alive."

"I'm going to get better." Nicky scoffs. "I'm going to be hot again."

"You always look hot to me." Andie smiles.

"You just told your mother we couldn't do anything because I was all crunched over." Nicky reminds.

"In a few weeks when you're all better I'm going to give you a night you'll never forget. Think about that." Andie gives him a gentle kiss on the lips. "It'll be something to look forward to."

Nicky nods. "Okay, but you have to promise me you won't check out that FBI agent, Jayden, again with his bright green eyes and six pack."

Andie laughs. "Are you jealous?"

"No." Nicky shakes his head.

"Yes. You are." Andie smiles. "I promise I won't look at Jayden if you don't look at Nina."

"That's going to be a little hard since I'm her boss. She's my keyboard player."

Andie takes Nicky's hand and holds it on hers before planting a kiss on it. "You can look at her fingers and that's it."

"Deal" Nicky smiles.


	134. Chapter 134

_**CHAPTER 134**_

* * *

><p>Nicky's looks at his reflection in the closet door mirror. He combs his hair and pulls on a t-shirt and his favorite jeans.<p>

Andie knocks and enters the room. "Wow! Someone looks like he's feeling better."

"Thanks for bringing all my favorites things here." Nicky tells her. "But I have a question."

"Shoot." Andie replies.

"Who's been doing my laundry since I've been staying at your house?"

"Why?" Andie asks.

"I don't like the idea of your parents handling my dirty skivvies."

"Don't worry, I've been doing my own laundry since I was sixteen. I don't like my momma handling my dirty skivvy's either." Andie laughs. "I've been doing your laundry."

"Good." Nicky goes back to combing his hair.

"Dinner's ready, come downstairs and eat with the family tonight instead of eating in here alone." Andie looks around at what Nicky has done to her room. He took down her posters of the bands she likes.

Nicky shrugs. "Nah. I'll eat up here."

"Why?"

"Awkward." Nicky answers.

"Tess will be there too. She eats over almost every night." Andie sits on the bed. "My parents should start charging her for food."

"I feel weird eating dinner with your family." Nicky untucks his t-shirt and examines himself in the mirror.

"What are you fussing in the mirror about if you're just planning to stay in my room all night?" Andie talks to his reflection in the mirror.

"I'm going to Giorgio's tonight. My grandma is opening it up to interview some new employees."

"Why doesn't she just keep the old ones?"

"She's keeping whoever wants to stay but some people quit after what happened."

"I can't blame them but why do you need to be there?" Andie watches Nicky comb his dark hair.

"The band is setting up tonight on stage. We haven't practiced since it happened. If my grandma's going to open up Giorgio's again soon we need to get practicing."

Andie lectures him. "You can't run around on stage. You need Dr. Bennett's approval first."

"Chilax, Belle, I'm not running around on stage tonight. I'll sit on a stool and play the guitar. I need a ride though. I'm not supposed to be driving yet."

"I'll give you a ride if you eat dinner with my family. No dinner, no ride." Andie tells him.

Nicky sighs.

"Come on." She pulls Nicky by the hand. "Dinner's ready."

Andie and Nicky walk into the kitchen holding hands. The family along with Tess is already seated at the table.

"Wow! You look great, Nicky." Tess comments. "I'd never known you were shot two weeks ago."

"I feel better." Nicky takes a seat at the table. Andie sets out an extra plate and silverware.

"You healed fast." Charlotte tells Nicky. "Tess is right. I'd never known you were shot."

"It's ridiculous that he was shot at Danielle and Lucas's engagement dinner." Cooper shakes his head.

"It is what it is." Charlotte tells Cooper.

Andie announces. "Nicky's grandma bought Giorgio's. She plans to reopen it next week."

Cooper nods. "Leslie told me about that. She's interviewing new employees tonight. Bruce is going to be down there with the FBI to finish their investigation too."

Tess asks Nicky. "Does your grandma need any waitresses?"

"You looking for work?" Nicky spoons some mashed potatos on his plate.

"Yeah." Tess nods. "I don't have any experience but maybe you can put in a good word for me. I'm a hard worker. I could get a reference from the parenting clinic I volunteer at. I always show up on time and work hard."

Nicky chugs down some water. "Consider it done. I'll tell my grandma. You should come down tonight to meet her yourself, that might work better."

Andie asks. "You think she would give me a job too?"

Cooper looks at Andie. "You have enough to do between school and taking care of Harper. You don't need a job."

"I'm eighteen, dad. I should be paying rent." Andie mentions.

"I can't believe you just said that." Chase chuckles. "You actually want to pay rent?"

"Harper is your first job, Andie." Charlotte shoots Andie a look. "Who's going to watch Harper while you're at work?"

"You and daddy." Andie tells her momma. "It would be at night or the weekends."

"I have two jobs." Charlotte's uses a firm voice. "I work nights and weekends. I've been going out of my way these past eight weeks to come home early to help you with Harper. You are not getting a job."

"I'll watch Harper while Andie works." Noah volunteers. "As long as she pays me."

"Deal." Andie and Noah shake hands.

Charlotte looks on, annoyed. Cooper decides to stay out of this one.

"This chicken is awesome, Dr King." Nicky tries to change the mood.

"Tell Andie's father." Charlotte responds to Nicky. "He made it while I was at work."

"Uhm…good job with the chicken, Dr Freedman." Nicky feels awkward now.

"Thank you." Cooper smirks.

Nicky looks at his watch. "I better get going to Giorgio's." He looks at Andie. "Ya coming?"

"Uhm…yeah." Andie puts her fork down and wipes her face with a napkin.

"I want to come to and meet your grandma." Tess gets up.

"I'll come with you." Chase rises to his feet leaving his unfinished dinner on his plate.

"Good. We can ride together." Andie tells them.

"What about Harper?" Charlotte asks.

Andie shrugs. "We'll take her with us."

Tess tells Andie. "I'll help you get her stuff." Tess turns to Nicky and Chase. "We'll meet you guys in the car."

The group leaves the kitchen. Charlotte and Cooper are left eating with Drew and Noah.

"So much for my awesome chicken." Cooper looks around at all the half eaten dinner plates.

"That's cuz Nicky came to dinner." Charlotte takes a sip of water.

"What's that supposed to mean, Momma?" Noah asks.

Charlotte shakes her head. "Never mind."

Noah asks. "When are you guys going to let me see Marley again? Chase and Andie get to have their significant others to dinner. It's not fair that I can't."

Cooper takes a slurp of his chocolate shake. "Explain to me how Marley is still your significant other if you're not allowed to see each other?"

Drew announces. "They see each other at school and on skype."

"Shut up!" Noah responds in a threatening tone.

Drew defends, "I didn't say anything about you know what. I just said you see each other on skype. There's nothing wrong with that."

Noah looks at Drew. "Karma. Remember karma!"

"But I didn't say anything about you know what so I don't get the karma. Right?" Drew asks Noah.

"What the hell are you to talking about?" Charlotte asks them.

Noah looks at Drew again. "Karma." He warns.

"Alright. What's going on?" Cooper asks.

Noah threatens. "If you say anything, Drew. I'll make sure you get your karma."

Drew gets up from the table. "Everybody just leave me alone." He runs out of the kitchen.

"What's going on Noah?" Charlotte asks.

"Nothing and nothing would be going on if you just let me see Marley in person." Noah gets up and leaves the kitchen now too.

"Looks like it's just the two of us." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"So much for the fantastic dinner I made." Cooper complains.

"I think we should let Noah and Marley see each other." Charlotte tells Cooper.

"Why?" Cooper asks. "We agreed they were moving too fast."

"If they want to they'll find a way to meet up. I'm afraid they'll go further than they planned if they have to sneak to see each other." Charlotte explains.

"It wouldn't surprise me it they're already meeting behind our backs." Cooper worries.

"I want to leave the lines of communication open with Noah and Marley. I don't want her to end up like Andie."

Cooper nods. "Okay, I'll talk to Jolie about it tomorrow. She has to be on the same page as us."

"Good luck with that conversation." Charlotte raises her eyebrows and finishes her chicken.


	135. Chapter 135

_**CHAPTER 135**_

* * *

><p>Chase and Tess walk in Giorgio's holding hands alongside Nicky and Andie. Andie pushes Harper in a stroller. Their eyes are wide with amazement over how much Susan has already done to change the inside appearance of the restaurant in the past two weeks since she bought it. The normally dimly lit Italian restaurant is now bright with added windows, skylights and a large saltwater fish tank tube in the middle of the dining room.<p>

"Wow! It looks like a new restaurant." Tess looks around.

"Yeah." Nicky agrees. "My grandma wanted to change the image because of what happened."

Nina and Cody come over to greet them "Your grandmother's added her own touch to Giorgio's." Cody tells Nicky.

"I like it." Nina gives Nicky a hug. "You look great. I'm happy you're feeling better."

"You should see the new stage your grandmother had installed outside. It's gorgeous, dude, state of the art." Cody hits Nicky on the arm. "She said only the best for her grandson and his band."

Nina grabs Nicky by the arm. "Come outside and see. The rest of the band is already there checking it out."

Nicky strolls outside with Cody and Nina. Susan walks out from the kitchen. She gravitates right over to Harper and picks her up. "Hello, sweetie. Did you come to see your great-grandma's new restaurant?"

Andie watches Susan hover over Harper in the stroller. "We came with Nicky. He's outside looking at the stage."

"I hope he likes it." Susan smiles at them.

Andie introduces Chase and Tess to Susan. "This is my brother Chase and his girlfriend, Tess. Andie turns to Chase and Tess. "Meet Nicky's grandma, Susan Morgan."

Susan shakes hands with Chase. "You look just like your father and…-" Susan stops herself.

Tess shakes hands with Susan. "And who…-?" She asks.

"Just someone I used to know." She tells them.

Chase asks her. "You mean my father's father? I know the story."

Susan looks over at Andie for approval to talk about it. Andie looks at the ground. Susan changes the subject. "So, did you all come with Nicky to check out my restaurant?"

Tess answers. "We actually came to see if you would be willing to hire us. Andie and I want to waitress."

"Do you have any experience?" Susans asks.

"Not at waitressing." Tess tells her. "But we're quick learners and hard workers."

"I have some trays in the kitchen. Why don't you two go in there and practice carrying the trays around with plates of food on them, as long as you're not dropping food off of them by the end of the night you both can have the job."

"Do you mind watching Harper while I practice with the trays?" Andie asks Susan.

"I can watch her until my first appointment shows up for an interview."

"Okay." Andie follows Tess into the kitchen of the restaurant to find the trays.

"What about you, young man?" Susan asks Chase. "I could use another assistant chef."

"I don't know how to cook." Chase tells her.

"I hired back the top chef that worked at Giorgio's before. I figure the people that come here expect the same type of food. I also called in my top chef from my last restaurant in Ohio but we can always use more assistant chefs if you're interested." Susan tells him. "You don't have to know how to cook, you just help them."

"What do I have to do?" Chase asks.

"You do what the main chef tells you and you learn about cooking in the process. Is it a deal?"

Chase shrugs. "I could use the extra money but I can only work on weekends. I'm still in high school."

"No problem." Susan pats him on the back.

"Do you need to interview me?" Chase asks.

"You're my grandson. I make special stipulations for family." Susan thinks about it. "I'm sorry maybe I shouldn't have said that... but talking to you…-" Susan takes a deep breath. "You remind me so much of your father's father. He was sixteen when I dated him, you look and sound just like him. It's funny about genes."

"I know my sister doesn't want to accept you as our grandmother but I don't feel the same way as my sister." Chase smiles.

"Thank you." Susans puts Harper back in the stroller. "I appreciate that, dear. I have to go now. My first appointment just walked in the door. Do you mind watching the baby?"

"See you later." Chase pushes Harper into the kitchen to find Tess and Andie.

Nicky's band starts practicing on the back deck of the restaurant overlooking the water. Bruce and Jayden walk in the restaurant with some other detectives from the FBI. There are construction workers placing down a new tile floor in part of the kitchen of the restaurant. Chase wheels Harper into the kitchen.

"Come over here!" Tess calls Chase to watch her carry a tray of food over her head.

"Watch me." Andie calls Chase over, laughing. "Pile some more on."

Chase places a bowl of eggs on Andie's tray.

Tess and Andie dance around the kitchen listening to Nicky's band play while trying to balance the trays with one hand. Chase watches and laughs. "I'll give twenty bucks to whichever one of you can balance the tray on their head and spin around."

"You're on." Tess takes the challenge. Both Andie and Tess try to blance the trays on their heads. Chase looks at his phone to time them. It doesn't take long before both trays crash onto the floor making a huge mess.

"Ugh" Andie scowls.

"Looks like nobody gets my money tonight." Chase smirks.

"You're helping us clean it up." Andie tells him, both she and Tess kneel on the floor picking up the food and dishes. "It was your big idea."

"I hope we didn't break many dishes. Your grandmother will never hire us now." Tess picks up food off the floor.

"She will, we're family." Chase reassures them. "I'll go find a mop and a broom."

"I'm not." Tess looks up with a rag in her hand.

"You're family to me so you are to my grandma too."

Andie tries to clean up the eggs. She looks up at Chase. "You just met the woman two minutes ago. Why are you calling her grandma?"

* * *

><p>Nicky's sitting on a stool playing his guitar. "Take ten!" He calls out to the band. He asks Cody. "Can I bum a cigarette? I left mine in the car and don't feel like walking all the way out to the parking lot; having surgery sucks."<p>

"Still sore?" Cody asks, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"I've been lying around the Freedman's house for the past two weeks. I was good there but I'm feeling it, sitting on this stool."

"Leave early if you're sore." Cody pulls a cigarette out of his pack "Sorry, dude. This is my last one and I've been dying for a cigarette break."

Nina walks over. "I have a pack in my car. I'll run out and get it." Nina walks through the restaurant. She notices Harper whose stroller is halfway in and halfway out of the kitchen. "Hi baby." Harper smiles and makes a cooing noise. "What are you doing out here all alone?" Nina picks the baby up. "You wanna come with me outside for some fresh air?" Nina carries the baby outside to her car. She grabs her pack of cigarettes off the seat and her phone rings. "Hi, Mom." Nina sits in her car talking to her mother with Harper in her arms.

* * *

><p>"I won, just so ya know." Andie tells Tess as she mops up the eggs. "Your tray fell first. It startled me, that's why I dropped my tray."<p>

"No way." Tess exclaims. "Your tray fell first."

"Well we can't have a rematch. Ugh!" Andie complains. "These eggs won't come up. They keep smearing all over the floor."

"Let me do it." Chase takes the mop from Andie. He dunks it in a bucket of soapy water.

"Damn!" Tess shrieks.

"What happened?"

"I cut my finger on a broken glass."

Andie takes Tess to the sink to run it under cold water. She finds a roll of paper towels and passes it to Tess for her bleeding finger.

"How's your finger?" Chase takes a look and gives Tess's finger a little kiss.

Tess laughs. "I'll live."

Chase looks around and notices the stroller isn't where he left it. "I'll go check on Harper." He spots the stroller sitting halfway between the kitchen entrance and the dining room and walks over to get it. "Where's the baby?" He asks a worker who is lying tile nearby.

"She was in there a few minutes ago when I moved the stroller." The worker looks up at Chase. "Isn't she still in there?"

"No." Chase wanders back over to Andie.

"Where's Harper?" Andie asks him.

"I don't know. She's not in her stroller. Someone took her out."

"Probably grandma." Andie answers. She surprises Chase, Tess and herself for referring to Susan as her grandmother.

Andie, Chase and Tess decide to check with Susan, a little surprised that she would take the baby without telling them first. They walk into the room where Susan is interviewing a potential employee. "Grandma?" Andie says again. "Do you have Harper?"

Susan stares at Andie a moment before answering. She's also surprised to hear Andie refer to her as grandma. "No, dear. I asked Chase to watch her."

Chase answers. "I left her in the stroller. I turned my back for a couple minutes and someone took her."

"Maybe Nikolas has her. I'm sure she's just fine." Susan tells them.

Andie, Chase and Tess wander out to the back deck to find the band. Andie spots Nicky sitting on the stool talking to Cody. "Where's Harper?"

"You had her last." Nicky responds. "She's not out here."

Andie swallows, trying not to to panic. "Where is she?" She says to nobody in particular. "She was in her stroller. Who would have taken her out?"

Everybody looks at each other. Nobody has a clue who took Harper out of her stroller. Andie starts to panic at the thought of having no idea where her newborn baby is or who has her.

Jayden and Bruce are finishing up looking around Giorgio's, Andie runs up to them. "Harper is missing! Someone took my baby!"

"Harper?" Bruce asks, surprised.

"Yes! She's gone!" Andie starts to tremble now. Nicky gets off the stool and walks over to her.

"Where did you last see the baby?" Jayden asks.

Chase answers. "I was watching her. She was in her stroller in the kitchen. I turned my back just for a few minutes. The tile guy moved the stroller to work on the floor. And when I went to check on her she was gone."

"Let's go talk to the tile guy." The group follow Jayden inside.

"Excuse me, sir?" Jayden asks the construction worker. "Was there a baby in the stroller when you moved it?"

"Yeah," he answers. "Cute little thing."

"Did you see who took the baby out?" Jayden asks.

"No. I had to go in the back room to get more supplies. They must have taken her then. I hope she's okay. She's a cutie." The construction guy tells Jayden.

Andie's heart races. "Oh my God, Nicky, where is she?"

"My pop will find her." Nicky looks at Bruce.

Bruce instructs Jayden. "You check the parking lot for anyone suspicious. Does this place have surveillance video?" He asks Susan.

"We do but we're not open yet so it's not set up." She answers.

"Too bad." Bruce shakes his head and asks Andie. "Do you know anyone who would want to take Harper?"

"No!" Andie cries on Nicky's shoulder. "Someone must have kidnapped her."

Nicky tries to console Andie. "Maybe she was crying and someone just picked her up."

"Then where did they take her?" Andie's eyes dart around the restaurant.

"I don't know." Nicky starts to look under the tables.

Bruce shakes his head at Nicky. "She's eight weeks old, Nikolas. She didn't get out of the stoller herself and crawl under a table. Someone has her. We'll need a list of everyone who was in this building tonight, especially the people who already left." Bruce tells Susan.

"I'll get my list of appointments for you now." Susan rushes to her office.

A few seconds later Jayden walks in the restaurant, holding Harper. "My baby!" Andie screams and runs over to him. "Harper!" Andie grabs the baby out of Jayden's arms and holds her tight. "Where did you find her?"

Nina walks in a few seconds behind Jayden. Jayden gestures to Nina. "This young lady had the baby in her car while she was talking on her phone."

"Here are your cigarettes." Nina tosses the pack to Nicky.

"What were you doing with Harper?" Andie demands.

"She was all alone in the stroller so I took her to the car with me. I was only planning to take a minute to grab my cigarettes but my mom called and once that woman starts talking she doesn't stop." Nina smiles. "You know how moms are."

"We were scared to death, looking for Harper." Andie grimaces at Nina.

"She was in good hands with me. No need to worry." Nina replies.

Chase lectures Nina. "You can't just pick up someone's baby and walk off with it. You should've asked someone before you took her outside."

"There was nobody to ask." Nina responds to Chase. "She was sitting in the stroller by herself which I thought was odd since she's just a baby. Who leaves a young baby all alone?"

"You bitch!" Andie hands Harper to Nicky and yells at Nina.

"Calm down, Belle, Harper is okay." Nicky warns Andie.

"Don't tell me to calm down! She took my baby out to her car without my permission!" Andie yells at Nicky. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"If you were watching her I wouldn't have had to take the poor thing with me!" Nina argues back. "_YOU _left her alone!"

"You had no right to touch her without my permission!"

"Okay! Break it up!" Bruce tells everyone. "The baby is fine. The show is over."

The crowd starts to disperse. "I don't want you near my baby ever again!" Andie yells at Nina as she walks away.

"Our baby. She's our baby." Nicky reminds Andie.

Susan takes Harper from Nicky's arms. "You go back and practice with your band, dear, I promise not to let the baby out of my sight."

"Thanks." Nicky gives his grandmother a kiss on the cheek.

"And you go back to balancing trays." Susan tells Andie. "I'll hold Harper while I conduct my interviews and don't worry... I promise not to let her out of my sight for one second."

"Thank you, grandma." Andie give Harper a kiss on the head.

"Are you okay?" Nicky asks Andie.

"I am now that I know Harper's safe."

"Me too." Nicky tells her. "I guess we got our first real scare as parents. My mom lost me in the mall when I was three, I wandered off. She said I scared the crap out of her."

"Harper's only eight weeks." Andie shakes her head. "She shouldn't be scaring the crap out of us like that yet."

"It wasn't her fault. She can't even walk."

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Andie asks defensively. "Do you think I'm a bad mother now?"

"No, I never said either of those things." Nicky gives her a peck on the cheek before going back outside.

"I'm sorry." Chase tells Andie."It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off Harper."

"I don't blame you." Andie tells her brother. "It was Nina's fault. She shouldn't have walked outside the restaurant with my baby."

"I turned my back on Harper." Chase's eyes fill with tears. "If Nina was a psycho she could have run off with Harper or the tile worker could have taken her. It was my fault. I was the one who was supposed to be watching her. You thought she was with grandma Susan."

Tess rubs his shoulders. "Harper's fine, everything turned out okay and we learned that you really can't turn your back on her for a minute."

"Yeah." Andie pats Chase on the back. "This taught us all a lesson. Let's not tell momma and daddy about this though."

"Agree." Chase nods.

Andie and Tess go back to the kitchen to practice balancing the trays. Chase watches them.

* * *

><p>Nicky walks over to Nina who's practicing on the keyboard. "Why did you do that?" He asks her.<p>

"What?"

"Why'd you take Harper without telling anyone?"

"I already said, there was nobody to tell. Harper was alone."

"You did it to make Andie look like a bad mother." Nicky accuses. "Didn't you?"

"I did not." Nina defends.

"That's bullshit, Nina! Everybody knows not to walk off with a baby without telling the mother. You're a stranger to Andie. Why would you pick up her two month old baby and walk away with her?"

"Harper is your baby too." Nina tells Nicky. "I'm not a stranger to you. We know each other intimately or did you forget about last summer?"

"I didn't forget." Nicky lets out a quiet sigh. "I don't want you to go near Harper again."

"Then don't bring her to Giorgio's if you don't want her near me." Nina snaps. "I really don't need to see your baby _or_ her mother."

Nicky stares at Nina. He had no idea she had this bottled up anger. "What's going on, Nina?"

"What the hell do you want from me? I was in love with you, Nick. Am I just supposed to forget about last summer? I thought you were the _one_ but then we come back to LA and you tell me your ex just had your baby. I let you go. Now I wish I didn't. I made it too easy for Andie. She doesn't deserve a man like you. She doesn't deserve to have your baby. She's still a child herself. She almost lost your daughter tonight."

"Because you took her without permission." Nicky responds.

"Yeah, _I_ took her but it could have been anyone else. Andie was playing around in the kitchen with her friend. She wasn't watching her."

"Oh?" Nicky asks. "So, you saw Andie then?"

"Yeah, she was playing balance the tray on my head like a twelve year old would do." Nina tells Nicky.

"Then why didn't you just call out to her and say you were taking Harper?" Nicky asks.

"I don't know." Nina shrugs.

Nicky bites his lip, answering politely. "Please don't go near Harper again. Let's get back to practice."

"Everyone take it from the top of *Moves Like Jaggar!*" Nicky calls out to his band. He sits back down on his stool, playing the guitar as they jam. He can feel Nina's eyes watching him.


	136. Chapter 136

_**CHAPTER 136**_

* * *

><p>Cooper pushes Harper's stroller into Jolie's office. Jolie gets up from her desk. "Let me see that baby." Jolie picks Harper up out of the stroller. "She's adorable."<p>

"Thank you." Cooper sits down on the couch.

"I still can't believe you and Charlotte are grandparents. Andie must have had it in for you to make you grandparents so young." Jolie teases.

"That's why I'm here."

"I don't follow."

"It's simple." Cooper tells Jolie. "I don't want Marley to make you a grandma at forty-five."

"Bite your tongue, Cooper. Marley isn't even fifteen yet." Jolie scoffs. "She's a baby herself."

"Stranger things have happened." He makes a goofy face.

"What are you trying to say, Cooper?"

"I'm talking about Noah and Marley. Charlotte and I are concerned about them." Cooper explains. "We already caught them making out on the couch in our living room when we were home."

"That was weeks ago, Cooper. Noah and Marley aren't allowed to see each other anymore." Jolie plays with Harper's little fingers.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Charlotte thinks the kids are going to rebel and have sex to spite us for not letting them see each other."

"What do you think?" Jolie looks Cooper in the eye.

"I can see it happening." Cooper shrugs. "They're teenagers."

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

"We'll tell Noah and Marley we trust them and let them date again."

Jolie shakes her head. "No."

"Think about it, Jolie." Cooper explains, "if you were a horny, hormonal teenager - would you be more likely to sleep with your boyfriend if your parents tried to keep you apart or if they trusted you?"

"I see your point, Cooper, but if they were already making out hot and heavy on your couch when you were home, what will they do when they're alone, if we let them date again?"

"First of all, they're going to sneak out to be alone anyway if we keep them apart. I think we should let them watch Harper for an evening. Let them see how it is to take care of a real baby." Cooper suggests. "It's the perfect birth control method."

"Harper's an infant. Infants nap for hours at a time. I'm concerned about what they'll be doing in the house alone while Harper naps."

"We'll make sure they have to watch Drew the same night. Drew doesn't nap anymore." Cooper chuckles.

Jolie thinks a moment before letting out a faint sigh. "I'm willing to try it but if my daughter ends up pregnant I'll wring your neck, Cooper."

Cooper twists his face into a goofy expression, making Jolie laugh.

* * *

><p>Andie walks in the front door of the Freedman house.<p>

Nicky's sitting on the couch. "Your dad just called. He wants us all to leave the house tonight so Noah and Marley can watch Drew and Harper."

"Why?" Andie screws up her face.

"Some kind of lesson to make them not want to have sex or kids."

"Okay..that's kinda weird." Andie drops a duffel bag in front of Nicky and hands him a bouquet of red roses.

"Thanks for going to the cottage and picking up more clothes for me but what's with the roses?"

Andie plops down on the couch next to him. "They're not from me. The delivery man left them at Sheldon' s house since you weren't home. Sheldon brought them over when I was at the cottage picking up your clothes."

"Who sent me get well flowers?" Nicky grabs for the card.

"They're _red_ roses, Nicky; they're not get well flowers." Andie watches him read the card. "I already read it. Nina has some set of balls on her."

"Actually, she doesn't." Nicky raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you would know." Andie scoffs.

"You can't be mad at _me_ because Nina sent me flowers." Nicky tells Andie. 'That's not fair."

"They're red roses, Nicky. She wrote _I miss you_ and _love Nina_ on the card. She wants to rekindle things with you."

"But I don't want to rekindle things with her." Nicky kisses Andie on the neck. "I'm in love with you, Belle. You know that. I tell you everyday."

"You better set Nina straight. I wish you would fire her so you don't have to see her anymore."

"I can't fire her. It would be a bad move for the band but I will talk to her and set her straight that there is no chance of us rekindling things." Nicky grabs Andie and tickles her.

"What are you doing?"

"I love it when you're angry." He tickles her belly. "I love your little pouty face and the way you stick the tip of your tongue out when you're ranting at me."

Andie makes her pouty face at him.

"That's what I want to see." He shoves her down, playfully, onto her back on the couch and continues to tickle her. She laughs this time. "That's what I want to hear."

"I love you." She tells him.

"Ditto."

"Tell me you're mine, always and forever, Nicky."

"I'm yours, always and forever, Belle." Nicky moves his mouth down her neck. She wraps her legs around his hips.

Charlotte walks in the door from work. "Good grief!" She says when she notices them on the couch. "I swear there's something about that couch. It must be putting out some kind of pheromones."

Andie and Nicky sit up. They wipe their mouths at the same time.

"Are you dead intent on making me a grandmother again?" She glares at Andie.

"I have my clothes on, momma, but that'd be a neat trick." Andie tells Charlotte, Nicky snickers. "Come on, Nicky, let's go upstairs and change if we're going out tonight."

Charlotte watches Andie and Nicky walk upstairs before she sits down on the couch. "What is it about you?" She rubs the armrest of the couch.

"Who are you talkin to?" Cooper walks in the door.

"Nobody."

"I heard you." Cooper scans the room with his eyes. "Who were you talking to?"

"I was talking to the couch. There, are you happy? I was talking to a damn couch."

Cooper snickers.

* * *

><p>Dylan walks into the waiting room at St. Ambrose. "I thought I'd find you here."<p>

Lila looks up at him. "I spend all my time here when I'm not at school."

"How's your mom doing?"

"She still has the chest tube coming out of her lung. She can't come home until they're able to take it out."

"When will that be?" Dylan asks.

"Hopefully soon."

"When are your brother and Danielle going back to Yale?"

"They had to go back already because they missed too many classes but they're planning to fly home this weekend to visit my mom."

"Are you still planning to go to the dance with me this Friday?"

"Yep, I've been looking forward to it."

"Are Noah and Marley going together?"

"Aha." Lila nods.

"It's going to be a blast. I can't wait."

"Me too." Lila tells Dylan. "I need a blast after spending the past few weeks with my mother at the hospital."


	137. Chapter 137

_**CHAPTER 137**_

* * *

><p>Andie finishes applying the last touches to her makeup. She borrowed the silver taffeta dress that Tess wore to the prom. Andie's finally able to fit in it and look good. She decides to leave her red hair down but curls it.<p>

Nicky knocks on the bathroom door. "Are you ready, Belle?"

"Coming." Andie opens the bathroom door.

"You look amazing."

Andie checks Nicky out. He's wearing his grey jacket with a pair of Dockers tonight. His straight dark hair is cut so the front hangs slightly longer than the back. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He gives her a hug. "I'm lucky."

"Me too." She squeezes him.

Nicky breaks the hug first. "Not too tight, remember, Belle, You gotta go easy on me." He tells her, half kidding.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Not yet but you were squeezing me like a tube of tootpaste." He smirks.

"I'll be more gentle with my big man next time." She teases.

"I'm looking forward to it being just the two of us tonight."

"Let's go." She pulls him down the stairs by his arm. "Hey, dad." She says to Cooper who's holding Harper. "I thought you and momma left already?"

"No such luck." Cooper answers. "Harper spit up all over your momma. She had to go change into another dress."

"Bummer." Nicky pulls his keys out of his pocket.

"Sorry about that." Andie gives Harper a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, baby be good."

Marley walks in the front door. "I'm here and ready to baby-sit." Marley takes Harper out of Cooper's arms.

Cooper informs Noah and Marley. "You're watching Sarah and Drew tonight too. We're meeting Amelia and Sheldon at the restaurant."

"No problem." Marley shrugs.

Nicky gives Harper a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, princess. You be a good baby for Marley and Noah." He walks out the door with Andie.

Charlotte comes down the steps wearing a white dress with red flowers similiar to the one she wore to Violet and Pete's wedding.

"It's a good thing Harper spit up on you." Cooper tells her. "I like this dress much better than the last one."

"What was wrong with my other dress?"

"Nothing." He shrugs. "You look amazing in anything."

She folds her arm against her chest. "You said you didn't like the dress I had on before."

"I didn't say that. I said I like this one better. It's not the same thing as saying I didn't like the other one."

Noah makes a signal with his hands like a referee would do calling a play. "Time out! You made a foul, dad."

Cooper shakes his head. "Why does everyone always take your momma's side?"

Charlotte picks up her purse. "Because I'm right." She walks over to Drew and gives him a hug and kiss goodbye. She turns to Noah "Give me a hug, reff."

"Momma?" Noah's embarrassed to hug his momma goodbye in front of Marley.

"Give me a hug or I'll tell Marley what you did at the pier when you were eight."

Noah's face drops. "That's a foul, momma."

"Just give me a hug." Charlotte grabs Noah and kisses him on the cheek. "You take good care of the little one's, I'm trusting you."

"You have our numbers." Cooper tells Noah and Marley. "Call if you need anything."

"You can make macaroni and cheese for dinner or else you can heat up a frozen pizza." Charlotte tells them.

"I want pizza!" Sarah yells out.

Marley holds Harper's little hand up to make her wave goodbye. After Charlotte and Cooper walk out the door she asks Noah. "What happened at the pier when you were eight?"

"Nothing." Noah shakes his head and shrugs.

"Something happened for your momma to say that."

"Nothing happened." Noah plops himself down on the couch and picks up the remote. Harper starts to cry.

"I didn't expect her to start crying the second they walked out the door. What do you think is wrong with her?"

"She's probably hungry since she spit up most of her bottle on my momma's dress before. I'll heat her up another bottle." Noah gets up.

"I'm hungry too." Drew calls out to Noah. "Can you heat up the pizza?"

"Alright." Noah disappears into the kitchen while Marley sits on the couch with a crying Harper.

Drew and Marley run around the couch playing tag. "You're it!" Sarah shrieks.

"Not for long!" Drew calls out, trying to catch Sarah to tag her.

"Can you two stop shrieking?" Marley asks. "I'm trying to get the baby to calm down."

"Can we go outside and play tag then?" Drew asks.

"Yeah... but stay in the backyard." Marley tells them.

Noah comes back out of the kitchen with the bottle and hands it to Marley. "The pizza's in the oven. I set the timer. It only takes ten minutes to heat up."

"Okay." Marley feeds Harper the bottle.

Drew comes back in the door with a crying Sarah. "I'm bleeding! I want my mom! Call my mom!" Sara screams with tears running down her face.

"What happened?" Noah rushes over to her.

"She fell and cut her knee in the driveway." Drew points to a bleeding Sara.

"It doesn't look that bad, Sarah." Noah looks at her scraped knee.

"It hurts! I want my mom!" Sarah cries, holding her knee up.

"How about if I try to clean it up first and put on a band aid?" He asks.

"Okay...but don't put any medicine on it. It burns." Sarah sniffles.

"I'll put some ointment on that my momma puts on our cuts. It won't burn." Noah tells her.

"No ointment!" Sarah yells. "Just a bandaid!"

Noah holds his hand up in surrender. "Okay, just a bandaid." Noah goes to the bathroom in search of one.

Marley burps Harper and feels something warm run down her back. She lifts Harper to check her. The baby projectile vomits all over Marley.

"Yuck!" Drew calls out. "She barfed in your hair."

Noah comes out of the bathroom with a bandaid.

"Take the baby, Noah! I need a shower!" Marley calls out.

Sarah's still crying about her knee. "I need a bandaid before I bleed to death!" Sarah yells out.

"Hold on." Noah puts the bandaid on Sarah then takes the baby from Marley. Marley runs up the stairs to shower.

"Yuck." Drew points to Harper. She threw up all over her pj's.

"I guess I should change her." Noah carries a crying Harper upstairs. Drew and Sarah follow him. "Can you find me a clean pair of pj's?" Noah asks Sarah and Drew while he takes the dirty pj's off the baby. The six-year olds rummage through the dresser, pulling clothes out and throwing them on the floor in search of the perfect pj's.

"I like these." Sarah pulls out a yellow pair of pajamas with green polka dots all over them. She hands the pj's to Noah. Noah wipes the baby down before putting the clean pj's on. He sits in the rocking chair trying to settle the crying infant down. Sarah and Drew go downstairs to play a video game.

"I want to be player one." Sarah grabs the video game console from Drew.

Drew grabs it back. "No! I'm player one! It's my game and my house."

Sarah argues. "It's polite to let the guest go first. Plus, I'm injured! Don't your parents teach you manners?"

"I don't care. I want to be player one." Drew tells Sarah. "I'm always player one."

"You're mean." Sarah pushes Drew. Drew picks up a fistful of popcorn and throws it at Sarah. Sarah grabs a handful of popcorn and throws it at Drew. They start laughing and throw more popcorn at each other.

After Noah settles Harper down, he puts her in her crib and walks down the stairs. "What's going on?" He yells at Drew and Sarah. They throw popcorn at him now, laughing.

"You're going to pick every single kernel of popcorn up off the floor." Noah yells at them.

Marley calls out. "Noah, I need help!"

Noah rushes back upstairs to the bathroom. "What?"

Marley peeks her head out of the bathroom door. "I need a clean shirt. The baby barfed all over mine."

"Hold on." Noah grabs a t-shirt out of his room and returns to Marley. "Can I come in and watch you get dressed?"

"No!" Marley grabs the shirt and closes the door on his face.

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky slow dance at the restaurant. "This band is awesome." He tells her.<p>

"They're okay. Broken Spell is much better."

"You're just saying that because your boyfriend is the lead singer of Broken Spell." Nicky teases.

"Maybe." Andie kisses his lips.

"I can't wait to take you back to my cottage tonight."

"Ditto. We finally get to have sex again after having Harper." She fixes her collar as they dance. "Remember we were going to celebrate the night you got shot at Giorgio's?"

"Well, nothing's getting in the way of us celebrating tonight. I'm feeling good."

Andie looks across the dance floor. "No friggin way!" She exclaims to Nicky. "I thought nothing could ruin this night for me."

"What?" He turns around to see what she's looking at. Nina and Cody are at the same restaurant, dancing.

"What are they doing here?"

Nicky lets out a grumbled sigh."I told Cody we were coming here tonight to check out the band. I guess he decided to do the same thing."

"It was probably Nina's idea." Andie grumbles. "She's probably following us."

"Don't let her ruin our special night, Belle. Let's leave and go to the cottage now."

"I'm right behind you." Andie follows Nicky off the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Harper starts crying from her crib. It's a different cry than Noah's used to hearing from his niece. It's a high pitched shrieking kind of cry. Noah hurries into the nursey to check on her. Marley walks in the nursery a few seconds behind him, dressed in the t-shirt she borrowed from him and her own jeans. She looks at Harper. "Did you forget to put a diaper on her?" She asks Noah.<p>

"No, why?"

"She's got poop all down the leg of her pj's." Marley grimaces.

"Nasty." Noah says as he picks Harper up. He holds her away from him and lies her on the changing table. "It's runny and whew...it stinks." He pinches his nose closed with the fingers of his other hand.

Marley pulls off the dirty pj's. "She has diarrhea. It's all up her back too. She's going to need a bath."

"Can you set it up?" Noah asks. "The infant tub is in the closet near the bathroom."

Marley fills the plastic infant tub up with water. They gently place Harper in the tub and wash her. Harper screams and trembles.

"I don't know why she's crying so much tonight." Noah rinses the baby's hair. "Harper usually loves to take a bath."

"She's very cranky tonight." Marley comments while washing Harper's feet.

"I think the water might be too cold. Look at her, she's trembling." Noah tells Marley. "My sister usually gives her a bath with warm water."

Marley washes Harper's little belly. "I kept the water on the cooler side because I didn't want to take a chance and burn her soft baby skin."

Noah takes Harper out of the tub and wraps her in a towel. "She's probably crying so much because she's cold. Can you find her some warm pj's?"

Marley enters the nursery, looking around at the array of clothes on the floor. "Why are there clothes all over the floor?" She picks up a warm, pink pair of winter pajamas with little feeties.

Noah carries Harper into the nursery. "Drew and Sarah were helping me find pajamas for Harper while you were in the shower."

"Oh." Marley helps Noah dress the baby. "Why's she still crying?" Marley asks. "She's nice and warm and cozy in her clean pj's."

"Maybe she's hungry." Noah shrugs. "She threw up the last two bottles. I'll heat her up another one."

Marley and Noah carry Harper down the stairs. "What's that smell?" Marley scowls, inhaling the smokey air.

"I forgot about the pizza." Noah rushes into the kitchen. Marley follows him, holding Harper. Drew and Sarah run into the kitchen too. There's smoke coming out of the oven.

"Fire!" Drew yells.

Noah opens the oven. Smoke pours out from the blackened pizza. _BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! _The sound of the fire alarm fills the house. "Open some windows!" Noah yells out to them.

"Fire!" Drew yells again.

"It's not a fire. It's just smoke." Marley tells Drew as she holds a crying Harper in one arm and fans the smoke detector with a towel using the other arm.

Noah runs around opening windows to let the smoke out.

"Now we have no dinner." Sarah complains. "I'm starving."

After the fire alarms stop ringing. Noah heats another bottle up. He hands it to Marley. Marley carries the baby into the living room and sits on the couch with her. "Why is there popcorn all over the place?" She looks around.

"I told you to clean it up!" Noah scolds Drew and Sarah.

Marley tries to feed Harper. The baby fusses and turns her head away from the bottle. She kicks her legs up and shrieks.

Sarah looks at Harper before telling Marley. "Harper isn't hungry. She don't want the bottle."

"I see that." Marley agrees.

"Why are her cheeks so red and rosey?" Sarah asks.

Marley feels Harper's head. "She's hot, Noah. I think she has a fever."

"I'll get the ear temperature thing." Noah leaves the room and comes back two minutes later with a digital ear thermometer.

"Do you know how to use it?" Marley asks Noah.

Sarah raises her hand. "I do. My mom uses the same kind on me. I'll do it."

"I'll do it." Noah tells her. He gently places the thermometer in Harper's ear. It's beeps a few seconds later. "104.4" Noah tells them.

"That's really bad!" Sarah exclaims. "You better call an adult."

"We know." Noah tells Sarah, annoyed. "You and Drew need to go play in the playroom." He instructs. "Before you catch her germs."

"But we're hungry. You burnt our pizza." Drew complains.

"Come on." Sarah pulls Drew into the kitchen. "I don't want to catch Harper's germs."

"Why are we going in the kitchen?" Drew asks Sarah.

"Because your brother and Marley are busy with the baby. We can make our own dinner." Sarah starts opening the cabinets. She pulls out a box of macaroni and cheese to cook.

Marley asks Noah. "Who should we call your parents or Andie and Nicky?"

"I guess we should call Andie and Nicky first."

"But your dad's a pediatrician." Marley tells Noah. "He'll know what's wrong with Harper."

"Yeah but Andie and Nicky are her parents, we should call them first. They can call my dad if they need him."

"Okay." Marley rocks the crying infant in her arms.

Noah picks up his phone and presses the number for Andie's mobile phone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To Be Continued!<strong>_

_**Don't forget to Review =)**_


	138. Chapter 138

_**CHAPTER 138**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper are at a Mexican restaurant eating dinner with Sheldon and Amelia. Amelia raises her glass. "Congratulations to the new grandparents."<p>

"Heh, heh." Sheldon clears his throat. "I still can't believe you're grandparents. I thought _I_ was the old man at the practice."

Cooper takes a sip of his beer and gives a little chuckle before responding. "At least we'll be able to run around and play with our grandchildren. You'll probably be one hundred by the time you have grandchildren. You won't even be able to walk."

"Ha,ha, very funny, Cooper." Sheldon shoots him a look. "I'll have you know my mother is ninety-five years old and still going strong so we'll see who's laughing in another twenty years when I'm racing past you."

"In your wheelchair." Amelia smirks before turning serious. "So, how is Andie doing as an eighteen-year old momma?"

"Good." Charlotte nods. "We help her out and so does Nicky."

"We like to call it group parenting." Cooper lifts his eyebrows.

Charlotte sips her sangria, and adds. "We've been letting Nicky stay at our house since he was shot, and before that he set up a cot in Harper's room some nights to feed her."

"Nicky's been a big help with the night feedings." Cooper nods. "It gives me and Charlotte a break."

"Why doesn't Andie feed the baby at night?" Sheldon inquires.

"She does on weekends but we want her to sleep on school nights so she's rested for her classes at UCLA in the morning." Charlotte tells him.

Sheldon shrugs. "Harper is Andie's responsibility, not yours. If you make it too easy on her you're going to end up with another grandchild in under a year."

"That sounds good on paper, Sheldon, all those '_you made your bed now you lie in it_' kind of lines, but in reality, if we followed that rule our daughter would be failing her classes. We want her to graduate one day." Charlotte explains.

"So _you and Cooper _are paying the price for Andie's indiscretions?" Sheldon points out.

Cooper nods. "If we want her to graduate from college then yeah, we'll pay the price."

"It's what you do for your kids." Amelia tells Sheldon.

"Besides, like we said." Cooper takes a sip of beer and swallows. "Nicky's been doing the nighttime feedings lately."

Charlotte shakes her head. "I don't know how that boy does it. He feeds Harper at night, takes classes at UCLA during the day, and practices with his band in the evenings."

Sheldon nods. "You can see Nicky really loves playing in the band. It's probably therapeutic for him to do something he loves. It's not like work to him."

The waitress comes over to take their food order.

* * *

><p>Nicky carries Andie through the door of the cottage, bridal style. Once in the door, he places her back on her feet and kisses her. They kiss all the way to the bedroom while they pull off their clothes. Andie rips Nicky's jacket off of him and unbuttons his shirt while Nicky unzips her dress and pushes it off her shoulders. Andie steps out of it and into the bedroom. Nicky unfastens her bra with one hand in less than four seconds while Andie hastily unbuttons and unzips his pants. He pushes her onto the bed and begins working on her neck with his lips while she tangles her hands through his hair. Her phone buzzes in her purse, on the floor. Nicky pauses a second to look up at her.<p>

"Ignore it." She instructs him. Nicky places his lips back on her neck when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out , glances at the number, and shows it to Andie. "Someone's calling us from your house."

"Put it on speaker." Andie sighs.

Nicky hits the speaker button to answer. "Wassup?"

Noah talks. "Sorry to bother you on your date, Nicky, but Andie didn't pick up. Harper has a fever."

"How high?" Andie asks since they're on speaker phone.

"104.4" Noah tells them. "She barfed up all her bottles and has smelly diarrhea."

Marley speaks into the phone. "And she's been fussy, crying all night."

"We can hear her." Nicky tells them.

Andie sits up in bed. "We'll be home in a few minutes."

Andie and Nicky gather their clothes up from the floor.

Andie pulls on her dress. "So much for nothing spoiling our special night."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Nicky pulls his shirt back on.

**OOO-**

Marley rocks the crying infant while Noah wipes her head with a cool wash cloth. "My momma does this for us when we have a fever." He tells Marley.

"You're a good uncle."

"I don't think I want to ever have kids." Noah tells Marley. "This is too much work."

"That's because Harper's sick. She's fun when she's healthy." Marley reminds him.

"Still, babies get sick a lot. My dad has tons of babies in his office every day."

"Yeah." Marley agrees. "I don't want to have kids until I'm way older than Andie. I feel bad we interrupted their date."

Noah shrugs. "I don't feel that bad, she's _their_ kid and _we've_ been doing all the work while they're out having fun."

**_OOO-_**

Drew and Sarah play in the kitchen, mac and cheese is spilt on the stove. There's butter smeared on the counter.

"Let's make ice cream sundaes." Sarah pulls a container of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer.

"I'll get the chocolate syrup and whipped cream." Drew opens the fridge. He pulls out the whipped cream and sprays some into his mouth.

"Let me try." Sarah grabs the whipped cream and does the same.

_**OOO-**_

Andie rushes in the front door with Nicky following on her tail. Marley's holding a crying Harper while Noah holds a cool wash cloth over her head. Andie takes Harper from Marley's arms. "My poor baby. She feels so hot." Andie asks. "Why are her pj's wet?"

"Probably from the cool washcloths." Noah tells Andie. "We we trying to bring her fever down."

"Why is she crying so much? Is she hungry or something?"

Marley answers. "She vomited the first bottle all over me and she refused to eat when we tried to feed her again."

"She's all sweaty." Andie tells Nicky. "We need to get her out of these warm, wet pajama's."

"Thanks guys." Nicky hands Noah and Marely each a twenty dollar bill. "We'll take it from here." Nicky follows and Andie upstairs to the nursery.

Marley tells Noah. "I get the feeling your sister blames us for Harper getting sick."

"Don't worry about my sister. Harper was already sick. She barfed on my momma before they left for dinner." Noah clicks the TV on with the remote.

Nicky meets Andie in the nursey. He looks at the baby clothes strewn all over the floor. "What bomb went off in here tonight?"

"I don't know." Andie places Harper down on the changing table. "I have to get her out of these sweaty pj's. Find me one of those nightgown things with the elastic on the botttom. She'll be more comfortable in that."

Nicky searches through the clothes on the floor and finds a yellow infant gown and a clean onsie. "Here." He hands them to Andie before he starts cleaning all the baby clothes off the floor and putting them away.

"She's burning up." Andie tells Nicky. "Ask Noah where the ear tempertaure thing is."

Nicky leaves the room and comes back two minutes later with the thermometer. Andie places it in Harper's ear. "105.2" Andie tells Nicky before she starts to cry heself.

"Why are _you_ crying?" Nicky asks Andie.

"That's really high. I'm scared." Tears start to leak down her face. "She's never been sick before."

"It's okay, babies get high fevers, Belle, even I know that." Nicky sniffs the air. "Something smells funky. I think she needs her diaper changed."

Andie pulls off the old diaper. "Her poop is green, Nick, and it's runny. She's really sick."

"P.U...That smells nasty." Nicky hands Andie some wipes and a clean diaper.

Tears continue to flow down Andie's cheeks as she changes Harper. "What should we do? I don't want her to be sick."

Nicky takes out his phone. "I'll call your parents. They're doctors."

_**OOO-**_

Charlotte and Cooper are just finishing up their dinner with Sheldon and Amelia when Charlotte's phone buzzes. "It's Nicky." She tells Cooper before she answers, "hello."

"I'm sorry to bother you, Dr. King, but Harper is really sick." Nicky tells.

"What's the matter?"

"She has a high fever."

"How high?"

"105.2"

She senses anxiety in Nicky's voice. "Babies get high fevers. It's nothing to get alarmed about."

Nicky speaks fast. "She's been barfing and she has smelly green diarrhea. Andie's really upset about it."

"It sounds like she picked up rotavirus. It's been going around." Charlotte informs him. "It's nothing to get all worked up over."

"Where did she get that virus?" Nicky asks. "Nobody around her has been sick."

"Do you want us to come home?" Charlotte asks.

"We just want to know what we can do to help her. She's hot and we can't get her to stop crying."

"We're on our way home. We'll stop at the store to pick up some infant fever drops and pedialyte." Charlotte tells him.

"Thanks, Dr. King."

Charlotte hangs up. "We have to go." She tells Cooper. "Harper's sick."

Cooper nods. "I heard. I've had nothing but kids with rotavirus come into the office all week."

"That's probably how she got it." Charlotte tells him.

Amelia puts her napkin down. "We'll get the check and follow you home. We have to pick Sarah up."

"Yeah." Sheldon agrees. "I don't want Sarah there any longer than she has to be if rotavirus is going around your house."

"It's not going around our house, Sheldon." Charlotte says as she gets up. "It's going around Cooper's office."

_**OOO-**_

Noah and Marley sit on the couch and play a video game now. "Where have Drew and Sarah been?" Marley asks.

"I told them to go in the playroom before. They're probably watching tv." Noah focuses on his video game.

"You think we should check on them?" Marley asks.

Noah shakes his head. "As long as they're being quiet, let's not bother them."

_**OOO-**_

Andie sits on her bed cradling a cranky Harper in her arms. "How long can she just cry like this?"

"Maybe her tummy hurts, you know like when you have the stomach flu." Nicky suggests.

"My poor baby. I feel so helpless."

Nicky sits on the bed next to Andie. "Your parents are on the way home. They'll know how to help her."

"I wish I knew what to do for her." Andie wipes away a tear.

"Just think by the time we have our next kid we'll be pro's like your parents. We'll know what to do by then." Nicky teases.

"Poor Harper, she's like the guinea pig. We learn on her so our next kid will have it easier."

"That's how it was for me and you." Nicky tells Andie. "We're both the oldest. Our parents made all the mistakes on us. We paved the way for the rest of 'em."

Andie nods. "That's why Drew gets away with murder. My parents relaxed by the time they had him."

Charlotte and Cooper walk into Andie's room. Andie jumps up. "Here, momma, help Harper." Andie hands the baby to Charlotte. "Her tummy hurts and she has a high fever."

Charlotte feels the hot baby's head. "She's burning up. Give her the drops, Cooper."

Cooper opens the box of infant fever drops and squeezes some into Harper's mouth.

"I'm going to change into my bathing suit and sit in the tub with her." Charlotte tells them. "That will help to bring her fever down faster. "Fill the tub with luke warm water while I change, Coop."

Cooper does as told while Charlotte quickly changes.

Charlotte climbs in the tub in her bathing suit before Cooper hands Harper to her. Charlotte lets the naked baby rest on her chest with the lukewarm water covering most of the baby. Her head rests on Charlotte's shoulder. Harper finally settles down.

"She finally stopped crying." Andie sighs.

"Lying on her belly on your momma's chest in the water helps with the stomach cramps." Cooper tells Andie. "And it'll help bring down the fever too."

Nicky wraps her arms around Andie from behind. "See, Belle, she's starting to feel better already."

_**OOO-**_

Noah lets Sheldon and Amelia in the house. "Where is everyone?" Sheldon asks.

My parents are upstairs taking care of Harper. Drew and Sarah are in the playroom."

Amelia checks. "They're not in the playroom," she calls out.

"Then check the kitchen." Marley suggests.

"Are they even in the house?" Sheldon sounds annoyed, noticing that Marley and Noah are entranced by a video game, not knowing where the younger children are.

Amelia walks into the kitchen with Sheldon following behind her. "Holy Moly!" Amelia exclaims. "It looks like a bomb went off in here! " She looks around at the mess. "Start cleaning this mess up." She tells Drew and Sarah Sheldon uses a spoon to eat melted ice cream out of a container. Amelia calls into the living room. "Hey Romeo and Juliette. Get in here and help us clean this mess up."

"If they made a mess," Noah answers back, "they should clean it."

"You were left in charge of them." Amelia responds. "It's the boss's responsiblity. Get in here!"

Noah and Marley get up and walk into the kitchen. Amelia hands Noah a mop and Marley a vacuum. "You vaccum up the popcorn in the living room." Amelia tells Marely. "And you mop the ice cream and mac and cheese off the floor," she tells Noah.

"This isn't fair." Marley complains. "They made the mess while we were taking care of the baby. The baby was really sick."

"Welcome to the world of parenthood." Amelia tells them. 'It's called multi-tasking when you have more than one kid."

"But we're not their parents." Noah gripes while he mops. "I'm never having kids."

Drew and Sarah wipe down the counter with paper towels while Amelia supervises. Sheldon finishes off the chocolate ice cream.

"I think Charlotte and Coop''s plan worked." Amelia smirks at Sheldon.

_**OOO-**_

Charlotte climbs out of the tub and hands Harper to Cooper. Cooper re-checks the baby's temperature. "100.6" That's better." Cooper tells Andie.

Andie takes Harper to her room and lays her on the bed. Nicky helps Andie dress the baby. "Thank God she stopped crying." Nicky says.

"Here's some pedialye." Cooper hands them a botte of liquid. "Feed it to her tonight instead of formula. It'll keep her from getting dehydrated."

"Thanks, daddy."

Charlotte tells Andie and Nicky. "It's okay if you all stay in Andie's room tonight. Harper probably wants both her parents with her tonight."

"Thank you, momma." Andie tells Charlotte before lying down in her bed with Harper sprawled out on her chest. Nicky lies down next to them.

"Your parents don't have to worry about anything happening tonight. I'm exhausted." Nicky yawns.

"I think we all are." Andie closes her eyes.

"Goodnight, Belle." Nicky gives her a soft kiss on the cheek before lying back down and closing his eyes.

**_OOO-_**

****Charlotte and Cooper check on Drew and Noah before going to bed.

"We're going to drive Marley home." Amelia informs them.

"Wait, we need to pay her." Cooper reaches for his wallet.

"Nicky already paid us." Marley yawns.

"But we deserve extra." Noah adds." Harper was sick and we had to clean up the mess Drew and Sarah made. We didn't get a break all night."

Charlotte tells Noah. "Well, you can get a break now. It's late, time to hit the hay for both you and Drew."

Amelia and Sheldon leave with Marley and Sarah.

After Cooper tucks Drew in bed he joins Charlotte in the bedroom. Charlotte's changing into her pajamas. "What a night!" She pulls her night shirt over her head.

"I feel horrible." Cooper steps out of his pants and lies down. "I didn't want to tell Andie and Nicky but I brought that virus home from work on my clothes."

"You didn't do it on purpose, Coop. I remember I did the same thing when Andie was a baby. I felt horrible."

"I remember... after that you started taking your work clothes off in the garage and taking a shower before you would hold Andie." Cooper chuckles.

"Don't laugh." Charlotte punches him in the arm. "You're going to have to start doing the same thing now for Harper."

"I'm impressed you let them all stay in Andie's room tonight." Cooper yawns.

"The baby's sick and their exhausted. Nothing's going on in that room tonight except sleeping." Charlotte yawns now too.

"I never thought I would say this but I think Nicky is good for Andie." Cooper concedes. "He was supportive tonight and I have to admit he's a good father to Harper."

"Uhmm….hmmm." Charlotte drifts off to sleep.


	139. Chapter 139

_**CHAPTER 139**_

* * *

><p>Friday night has finally arrived, Noah and Marley walk into the ninth grade social, holding hands. Noah's wearing a blue pullover with Dockers. Marley wears her lavender linen dress over white leggings with brown leather boots. They spot Lila and Dylan sitting at a table in the corner and make their way over. "I love your dress." Marley tells Lila who's wearing a short red dress. She's not used to seeing Lila in a dress.<p>

Dylan hand slaps Noah. "I heard you guys had a bad night babysitting. My sister said Harper was sick."

"Sarah gave us all the details. Sounds like you had a blast." Lila laughs, sarcastically.

Marley rolls her eyes. "At least Noah and I are allowed to see each other again now that we both never want to have kids."

"Ha, ha." Lila chuckles.

"How's your mom doing?" Marley sits down next to Lila.

"They took the chest tube out today so hopefully she can come home soon"

"That's great."

Cole Jr and Suzie walk over to them. "Can we sit with you guys?"

"Sure." Marley tells her brother and his girlfriend.

"I hear your grandmother is reopening Giorgio's soon?" Dylan asks Suzie.

"Yeah. My brother's band is practicing for opening night. My grandma had a beautiful stage built off the deck for them overlooking the water."

"I don't know if I could go back to eat at that place after what happened." Dylan tells her.

Suzie shakes her head. "You won't recognize the place once you get inside. My grandma totally changed it. She installed this huge saltwater tube fish tank going up the middle of the restaurant. She has some awesome looking fish in it. Then she added new windows and skylights so the place is much brighter. She had new floors put it and bought new tables. It looks totally different."

"It sounds really nice. I want to check it out." Marley says. "What about you, Lila?"

Lila shakes her head. "Not until my mother is better. She was shot at that place. I don't feel right going back there until she's out of the hospital."

"I hope that doesn't hurt your grandma's business." Marley tells Suzie. "People may be afraid to go there after what happened."

"I'm not supposed to say anything but my dad and his FBI team caught the guys." Suzie tells them.

"Why can't you tell anyone?" Noah asks.

Suzie shrugs. "FBI rules, but my dad told _me _so I wouldn't worry the shooters are still out there."

"In that case I'll go to the opening this week." Marley tells her. "Do you want to go Noah? I can ask my mom to drive us."

"I guess." Noah shrugs. "Chase is going to be working there as an assistant chef and Andie and Tess got jobs there as waitresses."

"Cool." Dylan sips his soda. "It's like a family business."

"Well, technically Suzie's grandma is also Noah's grandma." Marley points out.

"Yeah except, Noah's dad wants nothing to do with my grandma so it's not the same." Suzie butters a peice of bread.

"My dad is starting to come around." Noah tells them. "The problem is my sister. She doesn't want to have the same grandma as Nicky."

"But my grandma loves Harper." Suzie tells them.

"That's just a weird situation if you ask me." Lila comments.

"Nobody asked you." Noah shoots. There's an awkward silence at the table now.

"This is a cool song, you wanna dance?" Dylan stands up and asks Lila, mostly to avoid the awkward silence.

"Yeah." Lila rises to her feet eagerly and walks out to the dance floor with Dylan.

"Why did you say that?" Marley asks Noah.

"She called my sister weird."

"She said it was a weird situation. She didn't say your sister was weird." Marley defends Lila.

"Same thing." Noah scoffs.

Suzie pipes in. "Andie and Nicky are happy together so if they don't have a problem with it nobody else should."

Noah gestures to Suzie. "See-that girl knows what she's talkin' about."

Three teens walk up to the table and stand behind Cole Jr.

"How's it going?" The tallest boy asks, talking to nobody in particular. Noah looks at them wondering what they could be up to. A shorter kid pretends to bump into Cole Jr's chair and spills soda on him. "Sorry about that." The kids walk off laughing.

Suzie hands Cole Jr. some paper towels. "They're jerks."

"What was that about?" Noah screws up his nose.

Suzie helps Cole Jr wipe the soda off his jacket. "They've been pulling stunts like this ever since CJ won the science fair. They're just jealous."

"What else did they do to you CJ?" Marley asks her twin brother, concerned.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Cole Junior tells his sister.

Suzie explains to Marley. "The other day they pretended to bump into CJ's desk and knocked his books on the floor. They walked away laughing just like now."

"I can handle them." Cole tells them all. "I'm not afraid of them."

"You should tell a teacher, CJ." Marley warns her brother.

"Yeah, right." Cole Junior says, sarcastically.

"I got your back, dude, if you need it." Noah hand slaps Cole Junior.

* * *

><p>Andie sits on the couch talking to Danielle while Harper sleeps in the infant swing nearby.<p>

"I'm glad Aunt Violet's going to be okay." Andie passes a bowl of pistachios to Danielle.

"Uh..huh," Danielle cracks open a pistachio before popping it into her mouth. "It would destroy Lucas if his mother didn't make it and it might destroy us."

"Why?" Andie pops another pistachio in her mouth.

"His mother was shot at our engagement party. It'd be a bad omen for our marriage if she died."

"I guess." Andie suggests. "But if you believe the saying _what doesn't kill you makes you stronger_, you and Lucas should have a real strong marriage."

Danielle laughs. "I like the way you think, girlfriend."

The doorbell rings. Andie gets up to answer the door and let's Jayden, the young handsome FBI agent, in. "Hey ladies!" Jayden salutes them.

"Hey!" Danielle calls back to him. "I remember you. How's it going?" She remembers the dark haired FBI agent who interviewed her and Lucas at the hospital about the shooting.

"It's going better now." He smiles at the two hot girls.

Andie walks Jayden into the living room. "What brings you by? Some important FBI business?"

"I'm looking for Nick Poulos."

"Nick's at Giorgio's practicing for the grand opening. His grandma plans to reopen next week." Andie holds out the bowl of pistacio's. "Nuts?"

"Love some." Jayden grabs a handful. "Shouldn't you be at Giorgio's practicing to balance trays on your head?"

Andie grins. "Yes, I should but unfortunately my baby is sick so I took the night off to stay with her."

Jayden breaks open his pistacio. "Sounds like you're a good mother."

"Why thank you." Andie smiles. "Have a seat and tell us what you want with my boyfriend."

"Bruce sent me to tell his son that the FBI caught the four guys that terrorized you, shot him and killed the owner of Giorgio's."

Danielle reminds. "They shot my fiancé's mother too. She was almost killed."

"Yes." Jayden nods. "I didn't forget about Dr. Turner. How is she?"

"She's improving. Hopefully she can come home from the hospital soon. Lucas and I flew down to visit her."

Andie asks Jayden. "Why didn't Bruce come over to tell Nicky they caught the guys, himself?"

Bruce is with the suspects now. "He wanted to interview the bastard who shot his son."

"That guy's in trouble." Andie tells Jayden. "Bruce has a hot temper. He wants to kill the guy who shot Nicky."

"Can't blame him." Jayden nods. "Nick is his only son. You should hear Bruce brag about Nicky and his band."

Andie smiles. "Oh, I believe it."

Danielle pipes in. "Nicky has a bad temper too. Remember he almost killed that football player that was bothering you in high school?"

"Really?" Jayden looks at Andie.

"The guy put his hands on me, in let's just say an inappropriate manner, Nicky wasn't going to let that fly."

"I'll have to make a mental note of that. Just in case." Jayden smiles at Andie.

Andie furrows her brow. "In case of what?"

"Part of the job. I make mental notes of just about everything." Jayden chuckles.

"Where were the gunmen hiding out?" Danielle asks.

"They were at some trailer park in Texas." Jayden tells them. "Bruce went to Texas to help bust them. He's interviewing them now."

"How did you track them to Texas?" Danielle asks.

"That's what we do." Jayden tells her. "We followed up on some leads."

Andie pops another pistacio in her mouth. "You have a fascinating job."

"Thanks, I like it." Jayden stands up. "I'm going to Giorgio's to give Nick the news. His father wanted me to deliver it personally. It'll be all over the media tomorrow."

Andie offers. "I can tell him."

"Nope." Jayden shakes his head. "I got orders from the boss to personally deliver the news to his son."

"Okay, then tell Nicky I said hi." Andie walks Jayden to the door.

After Andie returns to the couch, Danielle raises her eyebrows, telling Andie. "He's a twenty on a scale of one-ten."

"You're engaged. Why are looking at Jayden?"

"I can still look." Danielle laughs. "What about you?" Do you and Nicky have any plans to get married?"

"We talked about it before I was pregnant. He gave me a pre-engagement ring." Andie tells Danielle. "But we haven't talked about it again since Harper was born."

"That's weird." Danielle screws up her nose.

"We're practically married anyway." Andie tells her. "He's living at my parents house and we have a kid." Andie looks over at Harper sleeping in her swing.

"Do you want to marry him?" Danielle asks.

"I love Nicky and I want to spend the rest of my life with him but...-"

"But what?" Danielle raises her eyebrows.

"But Nick's the only guy _I_ ever slept with. He's slept with at least two girls before I met him and two girls since I met him, so at least four girls besides me."

"Who?" Danielle asks.

"He was with Allison when I broke up with him the first time and then he was with Nina over the summer." Andie continues. "Nick's the only guy I've ever been with. It just doesn't seem fair."

Danielle laughs. "I guess it was a good thing I slept with Tyler before Lucas then. I don't have to wonder if sex would be different with someone else."

Andie sighs. "There's not much I can do about it. If I ever cheated on Nicky he'd probably kill me."

"Do you want to cheat on him?" Danielle asks.

"No. Nicky's great in bed but I just wonder if it would be different with someone else. Would it be just as amazing, not so amazing, or even better?"

"If you could have sex with someone else who would you pick? Tyler or Cody?" Danielle asks.

"Neither. Tyler is like a brother to me and Cody is Nick's best friend."

"So who?"

"Jayden's hot." Andie raises her eyebrows at Danielle.

* * *

><p>Chase watches the chef roll up some chicken. "Pay attention, kid, because if you're going to be my assistant, you're going to need to roll up the chicken ahead of time, then it has to sit in the fridge for a couple hours to set before we cook it. Got it?" The chef tells Chase.<p>

"Got it." Chase watches first before grabbing a piece of chicken to roll.

Tess walks by with a tray full of glasses.

"You're getting better." The chef calls out to her. "How many have you broke tonight?"

"None." Tess smiles as she walks by.

Susan walk into the kitchen. "How's it going?" She asks them.

"Good." The chef nods.

"It better be." Susan tells him. "I want to open up next week."

"Got it, boss." The chef tells Susan before she walks out of the kitchen.

"How long have you known Susan?" Chase asks the chef.

"I used to work for her and her husband in Ohio. I started as an assistant like you and worked my way up to top chef. They paid me well. That's why I jumped on a plane when she told me she was opening up this place. It's real nice on the water."

"I guess that was your lucky day." Chase rolls up some chicken.

"Yeah, I was surprised but she's got some family out here in LA. Her grandson is the lead singer of Broken-Spell. I think that family is destined to succeed you know. I wouldn't mind being related to them."

Chase nods. The chef is obviously unaware Chase is another one of her grandchildren.

Susan walks out back to the deck to watch Nicky and his band practice. "HOORAH!" She yells and claps for the band.

"Thanks Grandma! Take ten!" Nicky tells his band.

"Don't mind me, dear. Go back to playing with your friends." Susan calls out to him before she strolls back in the restaurant.

Nina laughs. "At least she didn't refer to us as your little friends this time."

"Uh...huh." Nicky tries to ignore Nina. He walks over to Cody to bum a cigarette. "How's things going with Nina?" Nicky asks Cody, "I saw you at the restaurant the other night."

"Yeah." Cody puffs on his cigarette. "Nina insisted we eat there after I told her you were going there to check out the band."

"That's messed up." Nicky lights up a cigarette.

"She's still hung up on you." Cody lights up his own cigarette.

"So, are you going to keep seeing her?" Nicky inhales on on his cigarette.

"Oh yeah. You're taken and she's hot." Cody tells Nicky. "I'd be stupid to let a chick like that walk."

Nicky shakes his head. "That's even more messed up."

"Yeah." Cody agrees. "But she'll get over you one day." Cody blows smoke out of his mouth.

"Real soon, I hope." Nicky nods. "I'm going to ask Andie to get engaged on opening night here. Don't say anything, it's a surprise."

"No way?" Cody's jaw drops. "That should definitely be the kick Nina needs to move on."

"I need you to help me think of a song to play when I ask her. I don't have time to write one by next week."

"What kind of song?" Cody asks.

"The kind of song you sing to your girlfriend before you propose." Nicky takes a puff of his cigarette.

"You're going to propose to her on stage in front of everyone?"

"Yep."

"What if she says no?"

"She's not going to say no." Nicky scoffs. "We have Harper. I'm practically living at her parents house. They love me."

"I hope so." Cody watches Jayden walk over to them. "What's he doing here?"

"Beats me." Nicky watches as Jayden approaches them. "What can we do for you Mr. FBI man?" Nicky blows his smoke in Jayden's direction.

Jayden waves his hand in front of his face to fan away the smoke. "Ya mind putting that out. I don't smoke." He tells Nicky.

Nicky holds his cigarette away from Jayden. "What do you want?" He asks, agitated. He doesn't like the way Andie and Jayden were checking each other out the day Jayden interviewed everyone at the Freedman's house.

"Your father wanted me to come down here, personally, to tell you we caught the guys that shot you."

"Excellent!" Cody high fives Jayden.

Nicky puffs on his cigarette. "Why didn't my father come down to tell me?"

"He's interviewing the guys now, himself." Jayden responds.

"My father must not trust you with the big stuff, huh? You're the messenger boy?" Nicky tries his best to insult Jayden.

Jayden decides to get a dig in at Nicky too. "Oh, by the way, you don't need to tell your girlfriend. I already did. I was just there. She was _very_ excited when I gave her the news. At least I know _she_ likes me." Jayden smirks and walks away.

Nicky drops his cigarette and stomps on it. "Break's over!" He yells at his band. "Back to work!"


	140. Chapter 140

_**CHAPTER 140**_

* * *

><p>Broken Spell rehearses before opening up at Giorgio's. This is a big night. The restaurant is reopening after a month and he's planning on asking his baby momma to marry him. She has no idea. The guys of the band are dressed in tuxedos and the two girls are wearing short red dresses. "Does everybody have the new song down?" Nicky asks. "I know you only had a few days to learn it."<p>

"It's not exactly a new song, Nick." Jodi, the female singer tells him. It's been around for ages."

"I played it on the piano when I was little. My piano teacher taught it to me." Nina boasts. "It's always been one of my favorite songs."

"Okay then." Nicky nods. "It's gonna be a good night."

Cody walks up to Nicky. "Nina's going to be pissed when she finds out why we're really playing that song. Did you pick up the ring?"

"I did." Nicky pulls the diamond engagement ring out of his pocket.

"It's a beauty." Cody looks at the heart shaped diamond with smaller diamonds cascading down the gold band.

"I hope Andie likes it." Nicky sticks the ring back in the gold box and puts it in his pocket.

"How are you going to do it?" Cody asks.

"I'm going to call her up on stage to dance to that song and ask her when I'm finished singing."

"Isn't she going to be waiting tables for opening night?" Cody pulls out a cigarette.

"Nah." Nicky shakes his head. "My grandma made up some excuse about her uniform not coming in yet so she can't waitress tonight."

"How do you know she'll show up if she doesn't have to waitress?"

"She'll be here. Everyone's coming for opening night especially now that the FBI caught the guys." Nicky looks up. "There she is now."

Andie walks in with Tess and Chase. Andie's wearing a short clingy red dress. Tess is wearing her uniform which is a white blouse and black slacks with a gold stripe going down the side. Chase is wearing jeans since he's working in the kitchen with the chef tonight.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Susan greets them. "I need you two to go into the kitchen for a staff meeting before we open up." Susan tells Chase and Tess. She turns to Andie "And you get the best seat in the house. I'm seating you up at the table near the stage for opening night."

"Who am I sitting with?" Andie asks.

"You'll be sitting with Nicky's parents and Suzie and also some of Bruce's friends from the FBI. I invited the FBI to opening night since they caught those bad fellows. My treat."

"Okay." Andie follows Susan to the table. Andie's the first one there. She sits down and watches the band fine tuning on the stage. Nicky smiles at her. Cody laughs and tells Nicky "She has no clue."

"Can you believe I'm actually nervous about this now? What if she says no?

Cody laughs. You don't have to do it tonight in front of everyone."

"I know but if I'm gonna do it I want it to be special."

The customers start to show up. Jayden's the first one from the FBI to arrive. Susan escorts him to the table where Andie is sitting. Jayden sits in the seat next to Andie. "Thank God." Andie says.

"What?" Jayden smiles.

"I was lonely sitting here by myself."

"Consider yourself rescued from your loneliness." Jayden laughs.

"Thanks." Andie smiles.

"How come you're not waiting tables on opening night?" Jayden asks.

"They forgot to order me a uniform and Susan said she has enough waitresses tonight already." Andie explains.

"Lucky me then." Jayden tells her.

"Or maybe Susan thinks I suck at waitressing and made up the story about the uniform so she doesn't hurt my feelings."

"No." Jayden takes a sip of water. "I saw you balancing those trays. You were looking pretty good."

"You were watching me?"

"I'm FBI. I make it my business to watch everything and everybody."

Andie nods. "I'm impressed."

"That makes two of us." Jayden flirts.

"You do know I'm going out with Nick Poulos?"

"So?" Jayden raises his eyebrows. "Where's your ring?"

Andie is at a loss for words. Nicky's parents sit down at the table now along with Suzie and Cole Jr.

"How's that granddaughter of mine?" Bruce asks.

"She's feeling better." Andie tells Bruce.

"Your granddaughter is beautiful, boss." Jayden tells Bruce. "She takes after her mother."

"The next one will look like me and my son." Bruce jokes. "Isn't that right, Andie?"

"I'm not planning on having another one any time soon, Mr. Poulos."

"That's good to hear." Jayden takes another sip of water.

Tess approaches the table with her notepad. "Hi, Welcome to Giorgio's on The Water. My name is Tess. I'll be your server tonight. Are you ready to order?"

Andie breaks out in laughter. Jayden starts laughing along with Suzie.

Suzie giggles. "We know who you are and where we are, Tess."

"That's what I have to say to all my customers. I figured I'd practice on you. Are you ready to order?"

"Why don't you start with the pretty lady in the red?" Jayden gestures to Andie.

Andie smiles at Tess "This is wierd, I'll have the Chicken Marsala."

Nicky's band starts to play.

After Andie's table finishes ordering their food. Nicky makes an announcement. "For this next song I'd like you to grab your partners and take them out on the dance floor."

Bruce and Leslie get up to dance followed by Suzie and Cole Jr. Andie sits at the table next to Jayden. "Do you want to dance or you would rather we sit at the table and watch everyone else have a good time?"

"I'll dance." Andie rises to her feet. Just then Nicky makes another announcement. "I'd like to invite my girlfriend up on stage." Nicky looks at Andie. Andie's eyes widen with surprise. She doesn't know what's going on.

"Come on up, Belle." Nicky speaks into the microphone.

Andie turns to Jayden "Sorry, maybe we can dance later. She climbs up the steps to the stage, after the music starts playing Nicky takes her in his arms.

"What are we doing?" Andie screws up her face while she begins to dance with him to the music.

Nicky sings in the microphone while he slow dances with her.

~~~~ I See Trees of Green~~~Red Roses Too~~~I See Them Bloom For Me And You~~

~~~~I Think To Myself What A Wonderful World. ~~~~~~

She definitely wasn't expecting him to do anything like this on opening night.

~~~~~I Hear Babies Cry~~~I Watch Them Grow~~~They Know More Than I'll Ever Know~~~And I Think To Myself~~~What A Wonderful World.

After he finishes singing, Nicky surprises Andie and gets down on one knee. He pulls a box out of his pocket and shows it to Andie. "Belle, will you marry me?" It's simple but direct.

Andie stares at Nicky for thirty seconds with her mouth open. He definitely caught her by surprise. She swallows hard before answering. "YES!"

Nicky slips the ring on her finger before he rises to his feet. He gives her an epic kiss on the stage. The crowd applauds except for Nina and Jayden who have the most unhappiest looks on their faces. Nicky's parents run up on stage along with Susan to hug the happy couple. Tess and Chase join them up on stage followed by Suzie and Cole JR to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

"Thank you everyone." Nicky says into the microphone. Everyone clears the stage except Nicky and his band that go back to playing. Andie sits back down next to Jayden. He's eating his dinner. "I was shocked." She tells him. "This was a complete surprise."

"That's nice." Jayden eats his dinner. "I wish you luck." He says to be polite and doesn't say much else to her for the rest of the evening.

Andie waits at the restaurant until closing. She calls her parents to tell them she's going to be spending the night with Nicky at the cottage tonight because it's late. She doesn't want to tell them her exciting news over the phone. She'll tell them tomorrow.

The band congratulate Nicky and Andie before they leave. Nina doesn't say a word or look at them in the same fashion that Jayden behaved.

Once Nicky and Andie arrive back at the cottage he carries her through the door bridal style. "Shall we try this again?" He asks. The last time they were interrupted because Harper had a fever.

Andie smiles and kisses him. He places her down on her feet. They kiss while she slips out of her red dress. After they've shed all their clothes Nicky scoops her up and carries her into the bedroom. He lies on top of her. "Hi, almost wife." He slides into her.

"Hi husband." She purrs. They rock slowly and smoothly back and forth while he kisses her everywhere his mouth can reach. She digs her nails into his back as she climaxes.

"Wow!" She says after they're done.

"Incredible." He pulls out a cigarette. "But it's always incredible with you."

"Really?" Andie turns on her side and asks him. "Is it really better for you with me or are you just saying that?"

"Huh?" Nicky lights up his cigarette.

"Well," Andie shrugs. "You've had sex with at least four or five girls besides me. "Is it better with me?"

"Definitely."

"Why?" Andie asks. "I mean they have the same parts as me so why is it better with me?"

"Because I love you and it's better when you love the person." He tells her.

Andie continues. "You said you thought you were falling in love with Nina over the summer so was the sex amazing with her? Was it just as good as when you're with me?"

"Andie?" Nicky screws up his face.

"I'm serious. Did you and Nina have amazing sex?"

"It was good but not as good as it is with you." Nicky reassures her. "You're the one, Belle."

"Oh?" Andie rolls back over.

"What's with all the crazy questions tonight?" Nicky puffs on his cigarette.

Andie sighs. "It's just that you're the only guy I've ever been with. I was wondering if it would be different with someone else. That's all."

"This is what you tell me on the night I ask you to marry me? You tell me you wonder if sex would be better with another guy?" Nicky raises his voice.

Andie rolls back over. "Not better. I love having sex with you but you're the only one I've ever slept with is all I'm saying. I just wonder if it feels the same with everyone or if it feels different."

"What does it matter? Life isn't only about sex." Nicky scoffs.

"That's easy for you to say. You've been with other girls. You already know what it's like with other people. I just made a commitment to marry you. That means you'll be the only guy I'll have sex with my entire life."

"And that's such a bad thing to you?" Nicky gets out of bed and pulls his pants back on.

"Don't get mad," Andie tells him.

"Don't get mad?" Nicky pulls his shirt back over his head. "I ask you to marry me and you tell me you wonder what it's like to sleep with someone else? Who, Belle? Are you thinking about Jayden? I saw you get up to dance with him tonight."

"I'm not planning to sleep with Jayden." She's not planning on it but she has thought about it. She had this conversation with Danielle the other day. She doesn't think it's fair Nicky's been with at least four girls and she's only been with him. "I was just wondering if it's different with someone else since I've only been with one guy-YOU!"

"You want to sleep with someone else then go ahead but give me my ring back!"

"You're being ridiculous!" Andie yells now.

"I'm being ridiculous? The woman I ask to marry me dreams about what sex would be like with other men and I'm being ridiculous? Give me back my ring!"

Andie pulls the ring off her finger and throws it at him. "Here!"

Nicky places the ring on his dresser. Andie pulls her dress back on while Nicky takes a shower. She slams the door on her way out.


	141. Chapter 141

_**CHAPTER 141**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte holds Harper in her infant seat as she waits on the steps of Violet's house with Cooper. Cooper rings the bell a second time. Lila answers. "Come in."<p>

Charlotte and Cooper approach Violet who's lying on the couch watching television. She's thin and frail. Being shot in the lung aged her about ten years, Cooper thinks. "Vi, you look great." He lies.

"Hello, Violet." Charlotte gives her a gentle hug on account of her fragile appearance.

"You brought the baby?" Violet notices Harper in the infant seat. "She's looks like you. She's your mini me."

"We think so too." Charlotte agrees with a hint of pride evident in her eyes.

"She's over the virus." Cooper makes it clear. "We wouldn't have brought her along if we thought she still was still sick."

"I know that." Violet starts coughing. Lila runs over with a box of tissues.

"Here you go, mom."

"Thank you, Lila." Violet nods at her daughter. She knows how worried the teen has been over her health. The door bell rings again. Lila lets Dylan in.

"Dylan and I will be outside on the porch if you need anything, mom."

"Thank you, sweetie." Violet calls out to Lila, then says to Charlotte and Cooper. "It's really weird."

"What's weird?" Cooper moves Violet's legs to make a place for himself to sit on the couch.

"I think me getting shot was the best thing that happened to my family." Violet coughs into a tissue.

"How's that?" Charlotte sits down in a chair across from the couch. She unstraps Harper from her infant seat to hold her.

Violet looks at what she coughed up into the tissue and scowls before tossing it into the garbage pail. "Lucas has been flying home from Yale almost every weekend with Danielle to visit me…-"

Cooper interrupts. "Lucas feels guilty you were shot at his engagement party."

Violet continues. "Lila's been extermely helpful, overly helpful. I can't get rid of her." Violet talks in a hushed voice, looking out the window towards the porch. "She cooks and cleans. She even does laundry, she runs to me with a tissue every time I have to cough or sneeze."

"She almost lost you. That's scary for her." Charlotte cradles Harper in her arms. "Sometimes it takes the thought of losing someone to appreciate them."

Cooper nods. "Especially teenagers. They think they're indestructible."

"Even Pete's changed." Violet tells them. "He lets me win every argument, even when I know I'm wrong. We haven't gotten along this well since before we were married."

Cooper grins. "Enjoy it while it lasts because once your back on your feet and looking like the old Violet again, I have a feeling things will be back to normal around here."

Violet coughs into another tissue before speaking. "I'll welcome that day. All this niceness is plain weird. I know I should be happy that we're all getting along but it's ...just plain weird...it's not us. I feel like I'm living with a fake family that looks like mine...like I'm in the twilight zone."

Charlotte and Cooper both chuckle.

* * *

><p>Lila sits on the porch swing with Dylan. "Do you have any weed?" Dylan asks.<p>

"Nope." Lila shakes her head.

"Why not?"

"I told you I made a deal with God that if my mother got better I would give up weed."

"But your mother's home now. You don't need to keep it up."

"Yes, I do." Lila scoffs. "I can't go back on my deal because my mother was discharged from the hospital. She could have a relapse."

Dylan screws up his face. "Are you friggin serious?"

"Yes." Lila nods.

"So, you're never going to smoke weed again until the day your mother dies?"

"Don't even say something like that!"

Dylan gets off the swing. "Where are you going?" Lila asks.

"To find some weed." Dylan walks away. Lila goes back in the house.

* * *

><p>Andie waits tables at Giorgio's on The Water while Nicky's band plays. Lucas and Danielle sit down at a table. Andie goes over to take their order but before she does, she tells Danielle. "I'm so glad you're home this weekend. I need to talk to you. I messed things up bad with Nicky."<p>

Lucas gets up. "I think I'll go take a look at the fish tank."

Andie sits in Lucas's seat. "What did you do?" Danielle asks.

"Nicky asked me to marry him the other night." Andie shoots. "He gave me a beautiful ring."

"Congratulations!"

"I gave the ring back to him." Andie pouts. "More like I threw it back at him."

"Why?" Danielle asks.

"We had this big fight about sex."

"Sex?" Danielle screws up her face.

"I told him I was wondering what it was like to have sex with another guy. I told him since we were getting married now I'll never know."

"Oh." Danielle says. "Go on."

"He got all crazy like he always does and demanded I give him the ring back, so I did."

"What are you going to do now?" Danielle asks.

"I don't know." Andie sighs. "I love him to death but it bugs me that I've never experienced sex with anyone but him. He's been with at least four girls besides me. It's not fair."

"So sleep with someone else. See how it is and then get back with Nicky." Danielle suggests.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"It's the only thing you can do if you want to spend the rest of your life with Nicky."

"What are you talking about?" Andie furrows her brow, looking at Danielle for answers.

"If you apologized to Nicky now for saying you wonder what sex is like with another guy and he takes you back you'll always wonder, it'll always bug you and eventually you _will_ cheat on him. It's better if you get it out of your system now rather than when you're marred."

"Nicky won't go for that. If I sleep with another guy he'll hate me."

"_He's_ probably going to sleep with someone else if you're broken up now anyway." Danielle advises her. "So, why shouldn't you?"

Andie looks up on stage at Nina. She wonders if she'll make a move on Nicky now that she knows the engagement's off. Nina's probably happy as pie. Andie sulks.

Lucas comes back to the table. "Can I have my seat back now?" He asks Andie.

"Sure." Andie gets up. "How's your mom doing?"

"She's looking better and better each time we come down to visit." Lucas sits back down.

"Glad to hear it." Andie takes out her note pad to take their order. After she's done, she hears a familiar voice call her name.

"Hey miss!" The voice calls out. "Can I get some service over here?"

Andie walks to the table to ask Jayden, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm hungry." He laughs. "I'm here to eat."

"Can I take your order?" Andie sits down in the seat next to him.

"I saw you sitting with Danielle. Do you always sit down with your customers to take their orders?"

"Only the one's I like the best." She flirts, he picks up on it..

"You're going to be sitting here with me for a while because I'm going to order everything on this menu tonight." He teases.

"Why are you eating alone?" Andie attempts to flirt again. "A dude with your looks shouldn't have any trouble finding a date to eat with."

"He chuckles at her cheesy line. "I'm meeting Bruce and another guy from our team. Bruce requested that our team be stationed in LA for a little while so he can be close to his family."

"That's nice," Andie shrugs. "I guess."

"Now that Bruce has a grandchild, and his son got shot he wants to stick around LA."

"Yeah. Bruce loves Harper."

"He brags at the office about how beautiful she is. He has a picture of her on his desk. I always want to tell him she's beautiful like her mother, not her ugly ass father."

Andie laughs. "I take it you don't like Nick."

"What was your first clue?" Jayden takes a sip of his ice water.

"Nicky and I broke up. I gave back the ring."

"I know."

"That's right. You know everything." Andie giggles. "You're FBI."

"Actually, Bruce came in the office and told us. Can't say I wasn't happy to hear the news." Jayden watches Andie for a reaction.

"You must really not like Nicky." Andie looks on stage to see Nicky talking to Cody and Nina.

"So, now that you're a free woman, do you want to go out with me sometime?"

"Me?" Andie's eyes pop. "Really?" She can't believe this is happening.

"Yeah, you." Jayden smiles. "You're a single lady now. Why not?"

"You don't mind being the rebound guy?"

Jayden laughs. "I asked you out on a date, not to marry me. I don't know how long our task force will be assigned to LA. It could be a couple of months or it could be a couple of years, I'm not looking for anything serious. I'm just looking to have dinner and a movie with a pretty girl."

"Okay then." Andie nods. "You have my number. Give me a call." Andie smiles at him before she changes into waitress mode to write down his order. Her grandma is watching and she doesn't wasn't her to think she's a slacker.

* * *

><p>The band is on a break. Nina walks over to Nicky who's smoking a cigarette. "I saw Andie talking to that hot FBI guy."<p>

"So, did I." Nicky puffs on his cigarette.

"What's up with that?" She asks.

"You know as much as I do." He blows smoke out of his mouth.

"So, now that you and Andie have broken up, are you interested in starting up again where we left off?" Nina plays with Nicky's hair.

"Aren't you with Cody?"

"We were but not anymore." She runs her hand down Nicky's arm.

Nicky sighs. "Things are different now than when I dated you last summer. I've got a kid to think about now."

"Andie doesn't seem to be thinking about your kid."

"She looked like she was taking down his order. Don't jump to conclusions." He drops his cigarette to the ground and stomps on it.

"Suit yourself but I'm not waiting forever." Nina tells him.

"I didn't ask you to wait for me." Nicky tells her before calling out to the rest of the band. "Break's Over!"

Andie waitresses while Nicky sings up on stage. Her heart breaks when his band plays *A Wonderful World* " She wonders if he's making the band play that song on purpose to break her down but she's not going to break, she bites her bottom lip and tells herself.


	142. Chapter 142

_**CHAPTER 142**_

* * *

><p>"Dylan thinks I'm a dork. He won't return my texts." Lila tells Marley while they walk around the school track during their gym class.<p>

"Why?"

"He came over the other day and asked me for weed. I told him I quit. He left and I haven't heard from him since."

Marley advises her friend as they walk brisky, "you've got enough to worry about with your mother, Lila. Dylan's probably just mad he lost his smoking buddy. He'll get over it."

"Do you think that's all I ever was to him; a smoking buddy? Do you think that's the only reason he hung out with us?"

"He's my half brother so he has to hang out with me." Marley shrugs.

"I hope he wasn't just hanging out with me for the free weed, I was really starting to like him. I mean really like him, like a boyfriend."

"You probably just made him feel bad when you told him you gave up the weed because now he's the only one in our group that still smokes it." Marley suggests.

"He told me he smokes it because of the Hodgkin's. He said he wants to try everything in case the Hodgkin's comes back."

"That's crazy." Marley says as they walk the track.

"I don't think that's the real reason though."

"What's the real reason?"

"I think he's scared. I think he's afraid the Hodgkin's will come back and the weed relaxes him. It's a distraction for him from his thoughts for a little while." Lila tells her.

"Wow!" Marley exclaims.

"What?" Lila asks.

"You just sounded like a shrink, like your mother." Marley tells Lila and they both laugh and walk around the track together.

* * *

><p>Noah walks behind Cole Jr and Suzie with their class on the track.<p>

"Here's the money I owe you, CJ." Suzie pulls a five dollar bill out of her pocket and goes to hand it to Cole Jr.

Another boy runs up and grabs it. He runs away laughing.

"Hey!" Noah runs after the boy. "I saw that. You stole money from CJ. Give it back!"

"Who are you his guardian angel?" The boy smirks.

"Don't be a jerk. Just give the money back." Noah tells him.

Cole jr and Suzie approach them on the track. The boy drops the the five dollar bill in front of Cole juniors sneaker. "Here you go, loser." The boy stomps on Cole Jr's foot before walking away, laughing.

"You're a dirtbag!" Noah calls out to the boy. The boy turns around and gives Noah the finger.

"This is getting ridiculous, CJ." Suzie tells Cole Jr. "These dudes are bullying you. It has to stop."

"Ignoring them is the best way to deal with them." Cole tells her.

"So, you're going to let them taunt you for the rest of the school year?" .

"If I ignore them they'll get bored with me soon and move on to someone else." Cole continues to walk the track with Suzie and Noah.

* * *

><p>Andie walks on the pier with Jayden. "I had fun today" She tells him. "I kinda don't want this date to end."<p>

"It doesn't have to." Jayden grabs hold of her hand.

She wants to see what it's like to kiss another guy besides Nicky. She stops in her tracks, turns so she's facing him and presses her lips into his. She can tell she took him totally by surprise because it takes a few seconds for him to respond but soon he's pressing his lips against hers. He parts open his lips so that their tounges can meet up. It _is_ different, she thinks. Nicky has full lips, Jayden's lips are thin and he moves his tongue different. She continues to kiss him. It's not that one is better than the other but it's definitely different. Jayden breaks the kiss. "Wow!" He says. "You're full of surprises."

Andie grins at him. "I like the scent of your cologne."

"Thank you and I like red heads. There's something about them."

Andie grabs his hand, they stroll along the pier again.

"Do you want some cotton candy?" He asks.

"Sure. Why not?"

Jayden orders some from the vendor. He breaks off a piece and puts it in her mouth. She licks his sticky fingers, another nice surprise for him.

Andie giggles when she notices the look on his face as she sucks on his sweet sticky fingers."I'm having a good time with you." She tells him. "I wish this night didn't have to end."

"It doesn't." Jayden tells her. "My hotel is right around the corner. Well, it's not mine." He corrects." The FBI is paying for me to stay in a suite there until I find a place."

"Is your suite nice?" Andie asks. "Do you have a kitchen and all that?'

"As a matter of fact I do." He answers. "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure." Andie feeds him more cotton candy.

* * *

><p>Nicky knocks on the door of the Freedman house. Charlotte answers. "Andie isn't here."<p>

"I came to see my daughter."

"Come in. Harper's in her infant swing." Charlotte leads Nicky into the living room.

"Where's Andie tonight?" Nicky asks.

"We're not at liberty to say." Cooper responds.

Nicky picks Harper up out of the swing. "You don't need to tell me. I know she's on a date and I know who she's with."

"Then why did you ask?" Cooper quizzes him.

Nicky ignores the question and sits on the couch with Harper. "Hey princess, daddy missed you. How's my big girl?" Twelve week old Harper laughs at her daddy. "Can I stay with Harper tonight on the cot in her nursery?" Nicky asks. "I'll take care of all her night time feedings."

"That would be awkward considering the situation." Cooper responds.

"I haven't seen Harper in four days. I don't want to miss out on my daughter's life because Andie and I aren't together," Nicky complains.

"That's something the two of you have to work out." Charlotte tells Nicky.

"Well, it's a little hard to work it out when Andie's out on a date. I'm here now and I'm taking Harper to my cottage with me."

"No, you're not." Charlotte tells him.

"Over my dead body!" Cooper adds.

"She's my child. I'm her father. I can take her to my cottage if I want." Nicky tells them.

Cooper explains, calmly. "I understand you want to spend time with your daughter. I get that. I respect that. But this is Harper's home. She knows her nursery. It's not fair to remove her from her home because you're mad at Andie."

"Fine then I'm staying on the cot in Harper's nursery tonight. I didn't come here to spend only an hour with my daughter."

Charlotte nods. "You can stay on the cot in Harper's nursery tonight."

"Thank you." Nicky carries Harper up the steps to the nursery.

"Should we call Andie?" Cooper asks Charlotte.

"Nah. It'll only upset her. Let her have a good time on her date." Charlotte sits down on the couch and turns the television back on.

* * *

><p>"Nice suite." Andie tells Jayden.<p>

"It's home until I find a place to live."

"I could get used to it here." Andie plops down on the bed and bounces on it a little.

"You look good on my bed." Jayden smiles. He sits next to her. Andie leans over and kisses him. He wraps his arms around her and they fall together lying side by side. Jayden kisses down her neck while unzipping her dress. Andie thinks about how Nicky probably did this every night with Nina over the summer.

Jayden slowly pulls Andie's dress off, she pulls off his shirt. "Wow, you have a lot of chest hair." Andie looks at him. "The only other person I've seen with that much chest hair is my dad."

Jayden wrinkles his face. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I'm just not used to hairy guys. It's all good though." Truth is the only guy she's been with intimately is Nicky.

Jayden unfastens her bra and pulls it off. "You're bosom is very succulent."

Andie thinks-Nicky uses a lot of different words to describe her chest but bosom was never one of them. She decides to relax and enjoy it as Jayden kisses and sucks her breasts. She moans. It feels just as sinful as when Nicky does it, she thinks, or maybe even better because the feel of his tongue is a little bit different.

"Do you want to keep going?" Jayden asks.

"Dont stop now." Andie moans. Jaydens pulls both her panties and his pants off in a flash.

"Do you jave a condom?" She asks.

"Putting it on now." He tells her. "I'm FBI. I'm always prepared."

He spreads her legs and enters her while he goes back to working on her breasts. His hips rock with hers. It doesn't take him long to climax but she's not quite there yet. He's wearing a condom so it's not as intense a feeling as it is when she's with Nicky. Nicky and her never use condoms. She's almost there but not quite when he spills out into his condom and falls down on top of her. "Uhhhh... "That was great, Andie." He tells her. She doesn't like the way he calls her by her name. It doesnt feel right. She's used to being called Belle after sex. She wriggles her hips and pushes against him trying to climax but he's already softening and shrinking until he slips outside. "Sorry." he tells her. "Give me a little bit of time and we can try it again."

"Okay." Andie agrees, disappointed she didn't get to reach her climax.

A few minutes later, Jayden's snoring on top of her. Andie can't help but think this was a bad idea.

* * *

><p>It's four am when when Harper wakes up crying. Nicky wipes his eyes and rises up from his cot in the nursery to feed her. It takes him about a half an hour to feed her and get her back to sleep. It's approximately four thirty am when he looks out the window for Andie's car but doesn't see it. He strolls down the hall to her room and opens the door to reveal her empty bed still made up from this morning. "Damn!" He punches the wall before walking back to the nursery. He lies back down on the cot but he's not sleeping tonight.<p>

At the same time in a hotel not far away, Andie wakes up to the feeling of warm fingers playing with her nipple. "Mmm...That feels good." She opens her eyes and tells him before remembering where she is and who she's with. The next thing she knows his tongue is on her nipple, his warm hand is rubbing her between the legs.

"How's that?" Jayden asks.

"It's good." She moans. "Real good."

"It's all about you this time." Jayden sucks on her breasts while he rubs between her legs.

"I'm ready. I'm ready." She tells him, anxiously. "Hurry." She doesn't want to climax before he's inside. He slips the condom on and pumps in and out of her. She comes fast and hard. It feels just as amazing as ever, she thinks, but he's still pumping fast. Damn, he didn't climax yet. She lies there kinda annoyed because she's finished while he keeps pumping in and out trying to reach his climax. She doesn't mean to but a little gas slips out, making a tooting sound. It must be from him pressing up and down on her belly so hard in his efforts to climax.

"Sorry." She tells him. "This is so embarrassing. I never tooted before during sex." She feels her face flush with embarrassment.

"You're human. We all do it." He continues to pump in and out of her. When he finally climaxes she's relieved. He slips himself out and she rolls over on her side. "Goodnight." She looks at the clock. It's five am. She wonders where Nicky is. She knows this night was a mistake. Her and Nicky have perfect timing; this sucks. Jayden cleans himself up in the bathroom before he comes back to bed. He spoons up behind her. "Can you not do that?" Andie asks. "I can't sleep that way."

"Sorry." Jayden rolls over to the other side of the bed.

Andie can't fall asleep. She stares at the clock for ten minutes before she decides to get up and gather her clothes together. "You know what? I better get home. My baby will be awake soon. I should be home when she wakes up."

"Okay." Jayden tells her. "I'll drive you to your car at the pier."

* * *

><p>It's 5 am. The doorbell rings at the Freedman house; Nicky hears it so he gets out of bed.<p>

Charlotte puts her robe on. "Who in the hell is ringing the bell at five am?"

Cooper opens his eyes now too.

Nicky's already downstairs. He answers the door to find Tess standing there, crying. "Tess? Come in."

Tess walks in the front door.

"What's wrong?" Nicky asks.

"I need to talk to Dr. King." Tess tells him.

"I'm here, Tess." Charlotte walks down the steps, tying the belt on her robe with Cooper following. "What's wrong?"

"The police just called. The man who raped me and another criminal escaped from jail last night. I'm scared he'll come after me again." Tess hugs Charlotte, crying. Cooper and Nicky look on.

"Where are your parents?" Charlotte asks.

"They're not home. They went to Hawaii for their anniversary."

"It's okay, baby. You can stay with us." Charlotte rubs her back. "You'll be safe here."

"Do you want me to call my father?" Nicky asks. "He's FBI."

"I'm sure he already knows." Cooper tells him.

Charlotte and Cooper take Tess into the kitchen to talk.

Andie walks in the front door now. "What's going on?" She asks Nicky. "Is Harper okay?"

"Yes." Nicky answers. "Harper's fine."

"Then why are you here?" Andie asks.

"I'm here to take care of my daughter. I did all the night time feeds. Where were you?"

"That's none of your business." Andie walks up the steps.

Nicky walks up the steps behind her. "It's after 5 am. Your hair and dress are a mess." Nicky tells her. "I'm no idiot. I know who you were with and what you were doing."

"Well pin a rose on your nose." Andie tells him.

"Was it amazing?" Nicky asks. "Was he better than me?"

"Actually, no." Andie answers as she walks to her room. "It sucked."

Nicky's surprised to hear this. "What?"

"It sucked, bad timing and all that. It was a mistake but now I know. I got the answer to my question. Now if you'll excuse me I want to take a shower and forget it ever happened."

"Nobody's better than me. I warned ya I'm the best." Nicky smirks. "I know how to please the ladies."

Andie closes the door on his face.

"I'm assuming you used a condom?" He asks through the door.

"I'm no idiot." She calls back. "He used a condom and I'm on the pill."

Nicky walks back to the nursery, gloating, with a big grin planted across his face. He lies down on the cot. Now he can finally sleep.


	143. Chapter 143

_**CHAPTER 143**_

* * *

><p>It's ten am on Saturday morning, Andie walks into the nursery to check on Harper. Nicky's sitting in the rocking chair feeding the baby a bottle. He looks up at Andie. "Did it really suck or were you just saying that to make me feel better?"<p>

"It really sucked," Andie sits on the cot next to the rocking chair. "I'm sure you're happy that it sucked."

Nicky smirks. "How could it be so bad? All you girls think Jayden's such a hot guy. Does he have a tiny dick or something?"

"No." Andie scowls. "Jayden _is_ a hot guy. We had a lot of fun together, I showed him the pier. We fed each other cotton candy. It was just the sex part that sucked."

"Why?" Nicky screws up his face. "How can sex be that suckish unless his dick is miniscule?"

Andie starts. "It's not that. It was just...well... the first time…-"

Nicky interrupts. "What do you mean the first time? How many times did you screw him?"

"Let me finish." Andie rolls her eyes. "The first time he came too fast and then he fell asleep a few minutes later, leaving me lying there...unsatisfied."

"Ba,ha,ha." Nicky laughs. "My father must work him too hard. The dude needs his sleep."

Andie continues. "He knew I wasn't satisfied so he woke me up a few hours later and made sure he satisfied me, except this time _he_ didn't get satisfied fast enough. I was lying there waiting for him to finish so I could go back to sleep. Ugh. Never again."

"Hate to say I told you so but once you've been with the best...there's no hope for the rest." Nicky smirks.

"But I would have never known that if I didn't get to try it with someone else." Andie explains.

"You should've taken my word."

"Some things in life you need to learn for yourself." Andie makes a smirk face back at him. "You need to experience it to believe it."

Nicky chuckles. 'I'll give that one to you. Some things you do have to learn by yourself. The_ hard_ way." He emphasizes. "I hope you learned a lesson by it."

Andie shakes her head and rolls her eyes at him before asking, "are you moving back in Harper's room?"

"Your parents think we should work something out for Harper's sake. They think Harper should stay here because it's her home instead of spend time with me at the cottage. So, if I want to see my daughter at night I have to stay here." Nicky tells her. "But it's going to be weird staying at my ex-fiancé's parent's house. It could get real awkward if we're dating other people."

"So, why don't we fix that?" Andie suggests.

"How?"

"Make me your fiancé again."

Nicky chuckles. "Are you serious, Belle?"

Andie nods. "Dead serious."

Nicky puts Harper up to his shoulder to burp her. "You can't throw the ring back at me every time we have a fight."

Andie defends. "You asked for the ring back. In fact, you demanded it back, that's why I threw it at you." It's Andie's turn to smirk now. "_You_ can't demand the ring back every time we have a fight."

"Okay." Nicky nods while burping the baby.

"I mean it, Nicky. If I'm going to put that ring back on my finger it's never coming off again. You can't make me give it back when we fight."

"Understood." Nicky repeats himself. "The ring stays on for good no matter what."

Andie adds. "Because we love each other; we need to work things out in a civil manner, not throw rings around the room."

"Got it." Nicky gets up and hands Harper to Andie.

"I love you." Andie gives Harper a kiss on the nose. Andie looks at Nicky and tells him. "And I love you too. You big fart face."

"Fart face?" He wrinkles his nose up."That's a new one. You never called me that before. Did you learn it from Jayden?"

Andie's face turns red, remembering how she tooted during sex last night with Jayden. "I don't know why I called you that. It just came out."

"Fart face? That just comes out?" Nicky chuckles. "You must have farts on your mind."

Andie shrugs. "I don't know why."

"Oh My God." Nicky laughs. "Your face is all red. Did you fart when you were having sex? Is that why it sucked?"

"No, not me." Andie denies it.

"Then Jayden farted during sex?" Nicky chuckles.

"Maybe." Andie lies. She doesn't want Nicky to know she was the one.

"The hot FBI dude let one rip during sex? Ba, ha, ha, Ba, ha, ha." Nicky can't contain his laughter. "Was it loud? Did he blow it out like a horn or was it silent and deadly?"

"Shut up!" Andie hits his arm. "It's not funny."

Nicky tries to compose himself. He pulls her engagement ring off a chain around his neck that's hidden by his t-shirt. "Will you marry me, Belle?" He slips the ring on her finger.

"I would love to." They lock lips approximately two minutes to celebrate before walking downstairs for breakfast. Cooper and Charlotte are sitting at the table with Tess and Chase. Andie flashes her ring in front of her parent's faces. "Look who got engaged."

"Again?" Chase screws up his face.

"It's for keepers this time. Nicky and I promised to work out any issues instead of throwing the ring back and forth." Andie explains.

"That would be the mature way to do things." Charlotte tells her.

Andie looks at Tess. "Why are you so quiet?"

Chase answers for Tess. "The guy who raped her escaped from jail last night with another convict. They killed a guard to get away."

"Holy Crap!" Andie exclaims.

"Tess is going to be staying with us until her parents come home from Hawaii." Charlotte tells Andie.

"Maybe Nicky's dad can help. He's FBI." Andie suggests.

"I'm sure the FBI is aleady on the case." Cooper tells them.

"I just want this to be over." Tess cries.

Noah walks in the kitchen with Drew. "I'm going to take Squirt to the skate park to meet up with Marley."

"Isn't it too early?" Cooper asks.

"I figured there's a lot going on here today and I'd get Squirt out of the house." Noah tells them.

"Thank you, Noah, that's very considerate of you." Charlotte gives Noah a hug.

"Bye, momma." Drew says. "Noah's going to teach me to skateboard."

"Good for you. Have fun boys." Charlotte gives Drew a hug goodbye.

"I'll come by the skate park about noon to pick you guys up for lunch." Cooper tells them. "How does Mickey D's sound?"

"Sounds good to me." Noah says as he walks out the door.

"Me too." Drew follows Noah.

Noah and Drew ride their skateboards all the way to the park. Once there they meet up with Marley. Marley and Noah are trying to teach Drew some tricks when they hear voices heckling them from behind. "Dirtbags." A fourteen year old dude calls out to them.

Marley turns around. "Are you talking to us?"

Noah turns around now and recognizes them to be the dudes that were bothering Cole Jr at school. "What do you want?" Noah asks them.

"You're a dirtbag!" The dude says. "How do you like it? Isn't that what you called me at school the other day?"

Noah nods. "I called you a dirtbag because you stole CJ's money and stomped on his foot. Why can't you just leave him alone?"

"Hardy, ha, ha!" The boy laughs. "We'll leave CJ alone when you eat dirt."

"What the hell?" Noah asks.

Marley tells them. "Can't you see there's a little kid here? You're scaring him."

One of the dudes looks at Drew. "Aw, is the poor little boy scared? Are you going to crap your pants?" The dude laughs.

"I want to go home!" Drew tells Noah and Marley. "Let's go." Drew pulls on Noah's arm.

"We're leaving." Noah tells Drew. "Get your skateboard."

"You're not going anywhere." One of the dudes tells Noah. "The dudette and kid can leave but you're not going anywhere until you eat some dirt."

The dudes grab fists of dirt mixed with blades of grass from the ground and throw it at Noah.

"Knock it off!" Noah yells at them.

One of the dudes pushes Noah. Noah pushes him back out of reflex. Another dude pushes Noah hard to the ground.

"Stop it!" Marley yells and pulls out her phone. She calls Cooper. "Dr. Freedman, it's Marley, we need you to come pick us up from the skate park now!"

"I'm already on my way." Cooper tells her. "I should be there in a few minutes."

The biggest dude holds Noah's arms down while another one shoves dirt in his mouth. The third dude kicks Noah in the face, stomach and legs.

Drew tries to pull them off. "Leave my brother alone or I'm calling the police!" Drew screams at them. The dude pushes Drew out of the way and onto the ground.

Marley calls the police now that they're really hurting Noah and he can't move to fight back. "The police are coming!" Marley tells them. "You better leave him alone."

"You're going to jail if you don't leave my brother alone!" Drew yells at them.

"Shut up you litte runt!" One of the dudes yells at Drew.

Drew watches Cooper pull up. "My dad's here. He's going to kill you!" Drew yells at them.

Cooper gets out of his car. Drew runs up to him. "Daddy, three boys were beating Noah up for no reason!"

"HEY!" Cooper yells at the boys. The dudes see Cooper and scram out of there fast. Cooper rushes to Noah, who's spitting dirt out of his mouth. His nose and mouth are dirty and bleeding, he holds his stomach and coughs. Cooper calls an ambulance and then Charlotte.

* * *

><p>The door bell rings. Andie answers it. Nicky's father Bruce and Jayden are standing at the door. Andie quickly shoves her hands in her pocket so Jayden doesn't see her ring.<p>

"Hello." Jayden smiles at Andie.

"What are you doing here?" Andie looks at his feet. She can't look at him without thinking about farting during sex. She feels her face begins to flush.

Bruce answers. "We're here to meet with Tess Powers. I spoke to your momma. They're expecting us."

"Come in then." Andie leads them into the kitchen where Charlotte is sitting with Tess, Chase and Nicky.

Nicky glares intensely at Jayden.

Jayden speaks to Nicky. "If you'll excuse us, Nick, this is important FBI business, you'll have to leave."

"I live here." Nicky tells Jayden. "With my daughter, my fiance and her family."

"You mean your ex-fiance." Jayden looks over at Andie. She still has her hands in her pockets. She doesn't make eye contact with him.

"C'mon, Andie. Let's go upstairs to check on _our_ daughter." Nicky pulls Andie out of the kitchen.

"Are they back together or something?" Jayden asks Chase.

"I don't know." Chase shrugs. Chase is too worried about Tess to get involved in Andie's love life issues right now.

"That's not out concern." Bruce tells Jayden. "Focus, we're here on FBI business."

"Did you notice anyone or anything suspicious around your house last night?" Bruce asks Tess.

"No." Tess answers, shaken.

"Did anyone follow you here?" Bruce asks.

"Not that I know of."

"I'm going to assign Jayden to guard you in case this guy decides to come after you again." Bruce tells Tess.

"Thank you. I feel a little better knowing that." Tess says.

"Is it safe here?" Charlotte asks Bruce. "Should I send the baby to live at Nicky's cottage for now?"

"That's not necessary. I'm just assigning Jayden to guard Tess as a precaution. It's likely this guy left the city already and probably the state. He wants to get as far away from here as he can. I don't really believe Tess is in any danger but we need to take precautions just in case this guy turns out to be a psycho hell bent on getting revenge on Tess for putting him in jail."

"Excuse me. I have a call." Charlotte walks out into the living room. "What is it Cooper? Did you forget your wallet again?"

Cooper talks, anxiously. "You need to get to the ER. Three kids beat Noah up. They hurt him pretty bad."

Charlotte's face falls "Why?" She asks. "Why did they want to to hurt Noah?"

"Because they're punks, bullies, whatever. Anyway, Drew's really upset. He saw the whole thing. I need you to get down here."

"Is Noah okay?" Charlotte asks. "How bad did they hurt him?"

"He has some abrasions where they kicked him. They tried to choke him by shoving dirt down his throat. I'm worried he may have inhaled dirt into his lungs. He's coughing a lot. The nurse is giving him a mouthwash rinse now and then I'm taking him for an x-ray. And one of the kids stabbed him with a pen."

"That's awful." Charlotte says.

"I have to go Charlotte. The cops are here. I'm pressing charges against these boys."

"I'm on my way."

"What's going on?" Andie walks down the stairs.

"Noah was beat up at the skate park by some bullies. I'm going to the ER to check on him now. Bruce assigned Jayden as Tess's guard. I don't know how that will work out with Nicky staying here."

"Great." Andie says, sarcastically.

"Never a dull moment around here." Charlotte walks out the door.


	144. Chapter 144

_**CHAPTER 144**_

* * *

><p>Charlotte rushes into the ER. She spots Cooper talking to a cop in the hall. "Where is he?" She asks Coop. She's breathless from rushing in from the parking lot.<p>

"He's in room 2." Cooper points.

"Is he okay?" She asks, trying to catch her breath.

"The x-ray was clean but I want to admit him tonight for IV antibiotics as a precaution. He's coughing a lot. It may be too early to pick up an aspiration pneumonia."

"Anything else?" Charlotte asks.

"He's going to have a nice shiner from a kick to the left eye. They busted his lip open so he'll need sutures. He has some puncture wounds on his right arm where they broke his skin trying to stab him with a pen. He'll need antibiotics for those too. He's got bruises on his legs from being kicked. That's all."

"That's enough." Charlotte stalks into Noah's room. Noah's sitting up in bed. His eye is swollen shut. He's got some bruises already forming on his arms and legs. He's holding an ice pack to his bleeding swollen lip. Charlotte cups his chin in her hand and looks in his eyes." I'm here now."

Noah nods.

"Why did they do this to you?" She asks.

Marley and Drew are sitting at his bedside. Marley answers for Noah. "Because he defended my brother CJ the other day."

"You're talkin' about Cole Jr?"

Marley nods. "He wants to be called CJ now. It sounds cooler. Cole Jr is a walking target for bullies." Marley explains. "He's quiet, smart and he doesn't fight back."

"Okay," Charlotte looks at Marley. "So, tell me why he beat up _my_ son."

"Those dudes are evil! That's why!" Drew yells out.

Charlotte holds her hand out to silence Drew. "I want to hear it from Noah."

Noah moves the ice pack away from his lip an inch so he can speak. Charlotte's gaze moves to his bloody swollen lip now. Her expression is that of a sympathetic momma at first but it quickly turns fierce. She waits for his response.

Noah explains to his momma."I called one of the dudes a dirt bag at school the other day because he was picking on Cole, I mean CJ, he got his friends together and they beat on me for it today."

"Damn punks." Charlotte rubs Noah's cheek with her finger, while looking at his lip. "They're not gonna get away with this, I'll see to that."

Amelia walks in the room with Dylan. "Wow!" Amelia's eyes widen with surprise at the sight of Noah. "Cooper told me but I didn't think he looked that bad."

"Holy crap!" Dylan notices Noah's swollen face, lip and eye. "You want me to get some dudes together to beat the crap out of the jerks that messed you up?"

"None of that." Amelia tells her son. "Then you're no better than they are."

"Ma?" Dylan questions Amelia. "Look at Noah's face. They can't get away with that."

"They're not." Charlotte announces. "Cooper's talking to the police. We're pressing charges against those boys. We'll sue their parents, hit em wear it hurts; in the pocket... maybe then they'll reign there kids in, get 'em under control."

"Good." Amelia nods. "I can take Drew home with me. He can have a sleepover with Sarah, if it helps."

"That would be great." Charlotte gives Drew a kiss goodbye.

* * *

><p>Andie and Nicky walk downstairs. Tess and Chase are playing Scrabble with Jayden. Andie announces. "My parents are staying at the hospital with Noah overnight so we have to get our own dinner."<p>

"What about Drew?" Chase asks.

"He's having a sleepover with Sarah."

Nicky chuckles. "Look how long it took your parents to let us have a sleepover but they let your six year old brother have sleepovers with girls already."

Jayden responds. "Six year olds don't think about sex. All they care about is where their next candy bar is coming from."

Nicky banters back. "No kidding blockhead. I was making a joke."

Jayden replies. "It wasn't funny."

Nicky smirks. "You need a sense of of humor to know what's funny and obviously you don't have one."

Jayden goes to open his mouth. Chase starts talking first. "I can fix us something for dinner."

"You can't cook." Andie scoffs.

"I picked up some stuff from Giogrio's. Grandma doesn't pay me for doing nothing." Chase answers.

Andie quirks an eyebrow at her brother. "You're calling her grandma now?"

Chase shrugs. "Well, she is."

Andie folds her arms against her chest. "You haven't even known her for a month yet. How can you call her grandma? She's just a nice old lady. You should call her Susan, like I do."

"I'll keep it in mind." Chase walks into the kitchen.

"I'll help Chase cook." Tess follows.

"I'm with them." Jayden tells Andie. "I'd love to stay and chat but see ya." Jayden strolls into the kitchen.

Nicky screws up his face. "What a blockhead!" He tries to imitate Jayden's voice. "Duty calls."

"Stop it, Nick. His duty is to guard Tess. He's FBI like your father. You should at least respect his job." Andie lectures.

"I respect his job but I don't respect him for sleeping with you." Nicky plops down on the couch.

"We were broken up when that happened so he didn't do anything wrong. He didn't cross you."

"We were broken up for two minutes."

"It was four days and you should be happy it sucked."

Nicky smiles and leans in to lock lips with Andie on the couch.

* * *

><p>Cooper saunters into Noah's room. "The nurses are going to move you up to a regular room now. Your momma and I will stay with you tonight."<p>

"What about Tess? Aren't you supposed to be watching out for her tonight?" Noah asks.

"She's got her own FBI agent watching out for her tonight." Charlotte tells Noah.

"Cool!" Dylan answers. "I want to be an FBI agent when …_if_ I'm still…-"

"If you're still what?" Cooper asks.

Dylan shrugs. "Never mind."

Lila walks in the room with Cole Jr and Suzie. "Hi Dylan. Thanks for texting us about Noah."

"No problem. I'm gonna go now." Dylan tells them. "I have a cold. I don't want to get Noah any sicker." Dylan leaves the room.

Lila pouts. "He's leaving because of me."

Marley shakes her head. "No, I could tell he really does have a cold. He's all stuffy."

Cole jr tells Noah. "I'm sorry they did this to you for associating with me. You should have just left it alone."

"No CJ." Marley insists." Someone has to stand up to the bullies or they'll never stop."

Cole Jr answers. "Look where standing up to the bullies got Noah. He's in the hospital."

Suzie nods. "CJ's right. It's better to ignore them. If you ignore them they'll eventually get bored and stop."

Marley shakes her head. "I don't agree."

Cooper tells the teens. "These three bullies aren't getting away with it. The cops are on the way to their houses now."

"You did the right thing." Marley tells a battered Noah.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Authors note- Only six chapters left. I've had some requests for a sequel. I wasn't planning on writing one until one of my readers gave me the great idea to do a prologue of a cemetery scene. She suggested I start the next chapter 5 years earlier and write the rest of the story leading up to why they're meeting in a cemetery. Well, I took off with that idea...so yeah... I' m currently writing that sequel now. I have sent the prologue to several of my readers to see if they liked the idea. Everyone said to go for it, so I did. If you would like a sneek peak of the sequel DM me or tell me in your review and I will DM it to you. Once again, thank you all for reading and all your wonderful reviews. They inspire me to write more (even when I should be doing other things ;).<strong>_


	145. Chapter 145

_**Chapter 145**_

* * *

><p>Andie and Tess are eating dinner in the kitchen with Chase and Jayden. Chase cooked up some tasty Chicken Marsala with twice baked potatoes that he leaned how to prepare at Giorgio's. Nicky opted out of dinner tonight. He decided to hang with Harper in the nursery rather than look at Jaydens's face during dinner.<p>

"That was yummy." Andie rubs her tummy. "You have to make it again."

Tess nods. "You should be a chef!"

"My parents would kill him." Andie rolls her eyes. "They want at least one of their kids to follow in their footsteps and become a doctor. Chase is their golden child."

"What about you?" Jayden wipes his face. "Don't you like medicine?"

"That ship has sailed for me, I have a kid." Andie starts to clear the table.

"You're only eighteen." Jayden tell her. "You can choose whatever career you want. Don't give up on your dreams."

"I'd rather be an animal doctor than a people doctor anyway." Andie puts some dishes in the sink.

"What about you, Jayden?" Tess asks the young FBI agent. "What made you choose FBI?"

"I love the excitement and the travel. Our team travels all over." Jayden's green eyes beam. "And it's the ultimate reward when you solve a case, like when we caught the shooters from Giorgio's."

"It's great that you really like your job." Andie rinses a dish in the sink.

"I love it. I wouldn't want to do anything else in the world." He tells them.

* * *

><p>Nicky's up in the nursery feeding Harper. He looks out the window and notices a strange car parked across the street. He calls Andie downstairs on her mobile phone.<p>

Andie picks up. "Are you too lazy to walk down to the kitchen?"

Nicky peeks out the window and tells her. "Tell Jayden there's a strange car parked in front of the house. Two suspicious looking dudes got out and are heading up the lawn towards our front door."

"Why do you think they're suspicious? They could be salesman."

"Nah. These dudes are both wearing black hoodies. One guy is holding his hand in the pouch pocket of his hoody. They look suspicious to me but Jayden's trained to know."

"I'll tell him." Andie hangs up.

"What's up?" Tess asks.

Andie tells Jayden. "Nicky says that there's a strange car parked outside. Two men just got out and are walking towards the house. He wants you to check it out."

Jayden jumps up and discretely looks out the front window. He tells Tess. "Peek out the corner of the window and tell me if it's the guy who assaulted you."

Tess jumps up and does as told. She looks out the window. "It's him. Oh my God. It's him. " She grabs onto Chase's shirt sleeve. "He's coming for me! He's gonna kill me." She goes into complete panic.

"Calm down. I'm here to protect you." Jayden tells Tess.

"Please don't let him see me." Tess bites on the tips of her fingers. "I'm so scared."

Jayden tells Chase to hide with her in a bedroom closet and to lock the door to that room.

"Okay." Chase pulls Tess upstairs to his room. "I'm going to lock us in my room."

Jayden turns to Andie. "Call Bruce and tell him I need back up. Tell him the suspects are both here"

"Okay." Andie presses Bruce's number that's programmed into her phone.

The doorbell rings. "Find a good spot to hide." Jayden orders Andie.

"What are you going to do?" Andie asks, her heart racing.

"I'm just going to stall them for now. I have to wait for my back up to show up. These guys already killed a prison guard."

Tess hides in the bedroom closet with Chase. She's shaking. All Chase can do is hold her.

"Should we jump out a window to escape?" Tess asks Chase, her voice shaky.

"No, there's two of them. One could be at the front door and one at the back. You don't want to be outside if they're outside."

"I'm scared, Chase."

"Jayden's downstairs and he has a gun. He'll shoot them before he lets them get to you. It's his job."

Andie runs upstairs to the nursery. Nicky's holding Harper. "Get in the closet and hide." Andie orders Nicky.

"What's going on?"

"It's them. Tess recognized her attacker through the window." Andie locks the door to the nursery and pushes Nicky into the closet, holding Harper.

"What's Jayden planning to do?"

"He wants to try and stall them until your father gets here. I just called him. He's on the way."

"Should I go down and help him?" Nicky wants to be a man instead of hiding in the closet.

"No, you don't have a gun. They all do. Stay here and protect your daughter."

Jayden waits by the door with his gun drawn and ready. The doorbell rings again. "Open up, little miss!" The attacker yells. "We know you're in there!"

Jayden waits for his back up to show up. If he opens the door the attackers will storm the house trying to find Tess. There are two of them and one of _him_ and he's positive they're armed.

"I said open up, little miss! We know you're in there! We watched you walk in with your boyfriend!" They must think Jayden is her boyfriend because he's been assigned to protect her and go everywhere she goes.

Jayden takes a deep breath and waits. He knows if he opens the door and identifies himself as FBI they'll shoot him. They already shot a prison guard so they've got nothing to lose by shooting him too.

One bad guy tells the other. "Bust in the door. Little miss is probably on the phone with the cops by now."

"After five seconds, one guy shoots the door knob at close range. The door knob explodes leaving a small hole in the door. The other guy kicks the door open. Jayden waits with his back up agaist the wall next to the door with his gun drawn.

They enter the house with their weapons drawn.

"FBI ! Drop you're weapons!" Jayden yells. The attacker wastes no time and shoots Jayden in the chest. Jayden has a bullet proof vest on and returns fire shooting the attacker in the shoulder. The other gunman shoots Jayden in the head at the same time, Jayden falls to the floor.

"I just shot an FBI agent." The gunman says to his attacker friend. They hear sirens in the distance. "Let's get the hell outta here. The men run to their car and disappear.

Andie and Nicky can hear the shots while they wait in the closet. Andie looks at Nicky with big eyes. "Oh my God, they're shooting."

"Jayden has a bullet proof vest on." Nicky reassures Andie.

Andie listens. "It's quiet now. They stopped shooting." Andie holds Harper tight. "Please don't start crying, baby. That would be a really bad thing to do now." Luckily Harper is in a happy mood in the closet, smiling at her momma.

"I'm calling my dad again." Nicky pulls his phone out of his pocket and presses Bruces's number. He talks less than a minute.

"What did he say?" Andie asks.

"He said to stay in the closet until he gets here. They're almost here."

"But the gunshots stopped." Andie says again. "Why isn't Jayden telling us to come out?"

* * *

><p>At the same time, Tess clings to Chase in the closet of his room. "What if they shot Jayden and now they're searching all the closets looking for me?"<p>

"I'm not going to let them get you." Chase holds her tight.

"But what if they shoot you?"

"Shhh! I hear sirens. Thank god the poice are here."

* * *

><p>"Where's Jayden? Why is it so quiet?" Andie worries. "Do you think they shot him and they're in the house looking for Tess?"<p>

"I don't know. I don't hear anything." Nicky listens with his ear to the closet door.

"I don't like that it's so quiet. If Jayden shot them he should tell us the coast is clear."

"I don't hear them walking around. I wish I had a gun so I could go check."

"No way, you're not going out there even if you had a gun." Andie holds on to Nicky's arm.

Nicky shakes his head. They hear the cops cars pull in the driveway. The car doors slam shut. The next thing they hear is Nicky's dad yelling "**NO**! **NO**! **NOooo**!"

Andie swallows. "Can we get out of the closet now?"

"You stay with Harper. I'll go check what's going on." Nicky walks out of the closet. He slowly walks to the steps and spots his father and some uniformed cops downstairs doing CPR on someone. He walks down the steps and gasps when he spots Jayden lying on the floor, his head covered with blood.

* * *

><p>Charlotte and Cooper sit with Noah in his hospital room. "I talked to the cops again." Cooper tells them. "They want to know if we want to file an order of protection against these bullies for what they did to Noah."<p>

"No, dad, don't blow it out of proportion." Noah protests.

Charlotte looks at Noah. "Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror? Did you see what those boys did to you?"

"I want to forget it happened, momma." Noah sighs.

Charlotte warns her son. "Your father and I aren't going to forget, it's our job to protect you."

Cooper tells them. "If we agree to file an order of protection, those boys won't be allowed to attend school anymore. They can't be in a 200 foot radius of Noah."

"They should have thought about that before they laid their hands on my son."

Cooper raises his eyebrows. "So, I take it that's a yes to the order of protection?"

Charlotte's pager goes off. She looks at it. "I have to go to the ER. They're bringing in a gunshot wound to the head."

Cooper gives Charlotte his classic subtle shoulder bump on the way out. She flashes him a quick smile before she leaves.

Noah pleads with Cooper. "Please, dad, don't make a moutain out of an molehill. Don't file an order of protection."

Cooper screws up his face. "Those boys put you in the hospital."

"Please, dad, I'm begging you, don't make this worse for me than it already is." Noah looks at Cooper with big sad puppy dog eyes.

"Okay." Cooper agrees. He can't say no to any of his kids when they make that face at him.

Charlotte breezes into the ER as they rush Jayden in on a stretcher. Bruce is following behind the stretcher with blood on his shirt. Next thing Charlotte notices is Andie following behind Bruce. Charlotte rushes over to Jayden who the paramedics have already intubated. Andie begs Charlotte. "Save him, momma. Don't let Jayden die!"


	146. Chapter 146

_**CHAPTER 146**_

* * *

><p>The FBI agent meets Cooper outside of Noah's hospital room. "We talked with Mr. and Mrs. Powers. They're on their way back from Hawaii. We told them we were taking Tess to one of our safe houses. They gave us their okay but they asked if you or your wife would be able to go along."<p>

"Is that okay?" Cooper asks the FBI agent.

The agent nods. "We would prefer it since Tess is a minor."

"I'll need to talk to my wife first and then I'll meet you at my house." Cooper looks at his watch. "In say fifteen minutes?"

"Fifteen minutes is fine." The agent agrees.

Cooper rushes off to find Charlotte. She's standing next to Amelia in a waiting room. Amelia appears to be talking to Bruce and his team of agents. Andie's sitting next to Bruce. Amelia clears her throat before explaining. "The bullet shattered Jayden's skull and entered his brain tissue. There's a bullet fragment still lodged in his brain."

"Can you remove it?" One of the FBI agents asks.

Amelia shakes her head no. "I'm sorry, it's in a crucial area of the brain. There's no way to remove it without inflicting more damage."

"What's going to happen to him?" Andie asks.

"He's on life support. We're getting ready to do an EEG now to see if he has any brain activity." Amelia tells him.

"And if he doesn't?" Bruce asks.

"We'll have to call his family and talk to them about turning off his life support." Amelia says, somberly.

"They live in Colorado. I'll call them." Bruce tells Amelia. "I'm his boss."

"What if he has normal brain activity?" Andie asks.

"His neuro checks are poor. His pupils are _not_ equal and reactive like they should be if he had normal brain activity. Jayden _has_ brain damage. There's no doubt about it." Amelia tells them. "In some cases people have just enough brain stem activity to keep them alive without life support."

"That's good then?" Andie asks.

"Not really. The brain stem controls your vital functions such as heart rate and breathing etc. It's enough to keep you alive but nothing else. He would live in a vegatative state for the rest of his life."

"Like in a coma?" Andie asks Amelia.

Amelia nods. "Something like that."

Bruce swallows hard before replying. "I'd rather be dead than live out my life like that."

"Or," Amelia tells them. "He may have no brain activity at all which means he would not be able to survive if we shut off the life support."

Bruce looks at his FBI team. "We're taking these two guys down! They took out a member of our team." Bruce bangs his hand against the wall. "When we catch these guys I want them to scream for their mommies! Show them no mercy! You hear?" Bruce yells at his team. "Show them no mercy!"

"Got it." One of the FBI agents responds. "No mercy."

After Amelia's done speaking, Cooper taps Charlotte on the arm. "The FBI wants to take Tess to the safe house. They want an adult to go along because she's a minor."

Charlotte asks. "Do you want me to go?"

"No." Cooper shakes his head. "Noah needs his momma to be with him now and Drew.…-" Cooper whispers to Charlotte, "prefers you. Drew likes you better than me."

"No, he doesn't" Charlotte scoffs.

Cooper pushes a lock of Charlotte's hair behind her ear. "I'll go with Tess. I want to and I'm sure Chase will want to go too. You stay here with the other kids."

"Okay." Charlotte kisses Cooper goodbye. "Be safe."

"I'm hoping they catch these guys fast and we won't have to stay at the safe house long." Cooper says.

"Oh," Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Bruce is going to catch these guys if it's the last thing he does."

Danielle passes by the waiting room. Andie spots her and hurries down the hall to catch up with her. "Danielle? What are you doing here?"

"Lucas had to drive his mom here for an x-ray so I came along for the ride. What are you doing here?"

"Jayden was assigned to protect Tess from her attacker. The bastard escaped out of jail…-"

"Yeah, I heard about that on the news. He escaped with another convict. They killed a guard at the prison…-"

Andie interrupts. "And they tried to get to Tess last night…"

"Oh no! What happened? Did they hurt Tess?"

"No." Andie responds. "Jayden did his job. He protected her."

"Good." Danielle nods.

"They shot Jayden in the head. He's got a bullet fragment in his brain. It doesn't look good. They're doing an EEG on him now to check for brain activity."

"That's awful. I hope he's going to be okay."

"Amelia didn't make it sound good. He may be brain dead or live in a vegetative state the rest of his life." Andie walks down the hall with Danielle. She wipes a tear from her cheek. "I feel terrible."

Danielle nods. "I feel like _I_ want to cry too and I hardly know him."

"I slept with him. I went out with him on a date to the pier." More tears leak down Andie's cheeks. "We had a good time."

"Whoa…back up. When did you sleep with Jayden?"

"A few nights ago, he asked me out on a date and afterwards I went back to his suite at the hotel with him."

"Whoa…" Danielle's surprised. "Does Nicky know?"

"Yeah, he knows and he's okay with it." Andie wipes another tear.

Danielle's jaw drops open. "I can't believe that Nick Poulos is okay with his fiancé sleeping with another guy?"

Andie sighs, "He wasn't my fiancee at the time. Remember? I gave him back the ring?"

Danielle shakes her head. "I remember but I'm shocked Nicky was so understanding. I would expect him to throw a temper tantrum over it."

Andie explains. "He probably would have if I didn't tell him the sex sucked. I hate to say this when Jayden is so sick but it was disappointing."

"A hot dude like Jayen was disappointing in bed?" Danielle shrugs before saying. "I guess you never know. Maybe some nerdy little guy would turn out to be the best lover ever."

"I don't think it was that Jayden was bad in bed." Andie explains, "I'm not used to condoms and we used one which dulled things for me. He finsihed and I didn't, it was disappointing but being the great guy he is, Jayden woke me up later wanting to satisfy me which he did...-"

"I hear a _but_ coming."

"But _he_ didn't finish fast enough that time. I was lying there forever waiting for him to peak so I could go back to sleep. I just wanted him to hurry up and get off me, I let a fart slip out."

Danielle can't help but giggle. "So, you were like a skunk? That's what skunks do when something sneaks up on them. They spray them, it smells bad to get rid of them."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Andie defends. "It slipped out and it didn't smell."

"Sorry." Danielle giggles. "Sounds like it was a disaster."

"It was and I told Nicky about it. That's why he's not mad. I think he's actually happy now that I slept with Jayden, it made him look that much better in bed."

Danielle nods." Nicky should thank me, I was the one who suggested you sleep with someone to get it out of your system before you get married."

"And I took your advice."

Danielle looks at Andie's finger. "I see you've got your ring back now."

"I know, it made Jayden feel bad which makes me feel even worse about him getting shot. I don't want him to think I used him."

"You sorta did." Danielle tells her.

Andie sighs. "That's why he can't die. I don't want him dying thinking I used him to get back together with Nicky."

Danielle grimaces. "Poor guy."

Andie sighs. "I really like Jayden as a friend. I want him to know that. I really did have a good time with him on the pier and eating cotton candy with him. I wasn't just using him."

Danielle shrugs. "So, you just used him for the sex but you want to keep him as a friend?"

"Something like that." Andie shakes her head in frustration. "I just wish he never got shot. Why did this have to happen to him?"

"It's the life he chose, Andie. FBI is a dangerous job."

"Nicky's father is fifty. He managed to stay alive in the FBI. Jayden didn't even make it to thirty." Andie sulks.

* * *

><p>Amelia's pager goes off. She excuses herself from the FBI agents in the waiting room. "I have an urgent call in the ER."<p>

Charlotte follows Amelia. "Strange that they didn't page me."

"It's probably just one of my patients insisting they want to be seen by me." Amelia shrugs. Charlotte follows her to the ER.

"What do you have for me?" Amelia approaches the desk and asks the nurses.

"Your son is in exam room 2." The nurse tells Amelia.

Amelia rushes into room 2 with Charlotte trailing behind her. "Dylan?" She looks at a pale Dylan sitting on the exam table. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened, mom." Dylan replies.

Amelia looks over at Cole, who's sitting in a chair by the window. "What's going on?"

"He's not eating because his throat hurts and he has a fever of 102.0." Cole answers.

"Oh." Amelia crinkles her nose. "So, you took him to the ER for that? You almost gave me a heart attack. Why didn't you just bring him to the office for a fever and sore throat?"

Cole sighs and says in a quieter voice. "And the lymph nodes in his neck are swollen."

"Can I talk to you out in the hall?" Amelia asks Cole.

Dylan chimes in. "You don't need to go talk in the hall. You can talk in front of me. I know you both think the Hodgkin's is back."

"We don't know that, Dylan." Cole tells his son. "But we have to be vigilant because you have a history of Hodgkin's. It's probably nothing."

Dylan answers. "If it's probably nothing, dad, then why did you bring me to the ER?"

Amelia answers. "Your father just wants to be cautious. He did the right thing to bring you here."

"I don't want to have cancer again." Dylan has tears in his eyes. "I don't want to die."

Amelia can't help herself. The waterworks start falling. She hugs Dylan, crying herself.

"Stop all this." Cole tells both of them. "You're not going to die, Dylan."

Dylan looks up at Cole with watery eyes. "You don't know that, dad."

"_I'm _not going to let you die. I promise you. If the Hodgkins is back I'll take you to the best cancer center in the world. I'll sell my own blood. I'll do whatever I have to do but you will not die from cancer. I promise you that, Dylan."

Dylan sniffles back his tears. "Thanks, dad."

Marley walks in the room with Cole Jr and Lila. She notices Amelia snd Dylan teary eyed. "Oh my God!" Marley exclaims. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Cole tells her. "Your brother is going to be fine."

"Is the cancer back?" Cole Jr asks.

"We don't know yet, CJ." Cole tells his other son. "But if it is, we're going to fight it again."

"I'm so sorry, Dylan." Lila looks into his eyes.

"How did you know I was here?"

Marley explains. "We were visiting Noah in his hospital room. Sheldon brought Drew and Sarah up to see him. They told us that they saw you and dad walking into the ER."

"Good ole' Sheldon and his big mouth." Cole shakes his head.

"I'm not in the mood for company." Dylan tells them. "Go back and visit Noah."

"Noah's being discharged today." Marley replies.

Charlotte taps Amelia. "Sheldon offered to keep Noah at your house for the night since Drew's staying there. He figured he could hang with Dylan but now that Dylan is here...-"

"That's fine. Noah can still stay at our house even if Dylan is admitted." Amelia nods. "There's a lot going on at your house with the FBI. He'll rest better at our place."

"Can you all please leave now?" Dylan asks the other teens. "I'm not in the mood for company."

"Okay, feel better." Lila gives a little wave before walking out with Marley and Cole Jr.

Amelia looks at Dylan now. "There was no need to be rude. They came to see you because they care about you."

"You don't understand, mom." Dylan sighs.

"Make me understand." Amelia tells him.

"I can't." Dylan starts to lose his patience.

Cole smirks. "Dylan likes Lila. He doesn't want her to see him when he's not looking his best."

Dylan stares at his dad with wide eyes.

"Yes, Dylan, I know. I was a a fourteen year old boy once too." Cole pats Dylan on his back. "But don't worry your good ole' dad has lot of experience with women and I'm going to teach you everything I know, you lucky kid." Cole smirks.

Amelia rolls her eyes. "Oh no." She smiles and teases Dylan. "The ladies better watch out when they see you coming."

Dylan and Cole chuckle.

* * *

><p>The FBI agents walk Tess, Chase, and Cooper into the safe house. They look around. "This is a nice place." Chase comments.<p>

The agent gives them instructions. "You can't try contact anyone."

"How could we? You took our phones." Chase reminds.

The agent shoots Chase a look for the smart aleck remark. "There are five bedrooms, you can each pick out your own. We'll be guarding all the doors."

"I don't want to stay in my own room tonight." Tess tells Cooper. "I know it's against your policy but can Chase please stay in the same room with me? I don't wanna be alone."

"I understand." Cooper nods. "Just sleep with your clothes on and remember I'll be in the room next door. I have excellent hearing." Cooper smiles.

Tess grins. "Thank you. Dr. Freedman."

Cooper raises his eyebrows. "And remember what happened to Andie when she stayed here with Nicky."

"Don't worry, Dr. Freedman. I brought my pills." Tess tells him.

Cooper raises his eyebrows again.

Chase chimes in. "Not that we'll need them since we're sleeping in our clothes."

Cooper nods. "That's my boy."

"How's Jayden doing, Dr. Cooper?" Tess asks. "Have you heard anything else?"

"He has a bullet lodged in his brain. He's on life support. We have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Cooper tells them.

Tess sits down. "This is my fault. He was guarding me."

"This isn't _your_ fault." Chase tells Tess. "It's not your fault that crazy bastard decided to break into the house and come after you. It's not your fault that Jayden was shot. Jayden was doing his job. The only one at fault is the crazy bastard that shot him."

"But they shot him because they wanted me." Tess insists.

Cooper reinforces what Chase said. "Jayden was doing his job. It's not your fault."

Tess shakes her head. "I wish that made me feel better but it doesn't."

Chase hugs Tess. "Come on let's play a game. It'll take your mind off of things."

Cooper grabs Pictionary off a shelf. "I haven't played this in a long time. This is going to be fun." He tries to cheer Tess up.

* * *

><p>Amelia walks back into the waiting room to meet the FBI agents. Andie's still sitting with them. "I'm sorry it took me so long." Amelia tells them. "I had a family emergency."<p>

"That's fine." Bruce responds. "What did the EEG show? Does Jayden have any brain activity?"

"I'm sorry to say his brain activity is minimal. He'll die if we take him off of the life support."

"Then leave him on it." Andie tells her.

Amelia replies. "That's up to his family. He checked off on his driver's license that he's an organ donor. We need to talk to his family as soon as possible about harvesting his organs."

Andie's jaw drops open. "How can you say that? He's still alive."

Amelia looks pointedly at Bruce. "You need to make that call to his family now. I'll be right here if they have any questions for me."

"Can I see Jayden?" Andie asks.

"Go ahead." Amelia nods.

Andie walks into Jayden's room in the icu. "He has a white gauze bandage on his head. There's a tube coming out of his mouth hooked up to a ventilator. His chest moves up and down with the vent as it hisses and pumps air into his lungs. Andie sits down next to Jayden and takes his hand in hers. "I'm sorry, Jayden, you didn't deserve this. I don't know if you can understand me but I'm so happy we were intimate the other night. You made a difference in my life. Thank you for that. I'll always remember you."

Charlotte walks in the room. "Are you okay, Sweet Pea?"

"I'm fine, momma, but Jayden's not."

Charlotte nods and looks at Jayden. "I heard about his EEG."

"Bruce is calling his family now. Amelia wants to transplant his organs." Andie cries.

"Jayden will live on in other people." Charlotte puts her hand on Andie's shoulder and squeezes it for comfort. "He'll save more lives by donating his organs. That's something that Jayden would want to do from what I've known of him."

Andie wipes her tears. "Jayden was a good guy, momma. He was always so nice to me. It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Sweet Pea." Charlotte hugs Andie now and looks at Jayden. "Life isn't fair."


	147. Chapter 147

_**Chapter 147**_

* * *

><p>Scott, the pediatric oncologist walks into Dylan's room. Amelia and Cole are sitting at Dylan's bedside. They both get up when they see Scott. He has the results they've been waiting for. They haven't slept all night in anticipation for these results.<p>

"I have good news and some bad news." Scott looks at Dylan "Which do you want first, buddy?"

Dylan takes a few seconds to think. "Uh…the good news…I think."

"Good choice." Scott nods. "You're still in remission. There's no sign that your Hodgkin's is coming back anytime soon." Scott gives Dylan a high five.

"Then what's the bad news?" Dylan asks.

"You have a nasty case of strep throat." Scott pretends to grimace. "You'll need to gargle with warm salt water and take huge horse sized antibiotic pills for ten days and no kissing the girls for at least forty-eight hours after you start the antibiotics."

"I can deal with that." Dylan smiles now.

Scott tells Amelia and Cole. "The lymph nodes in his neck are enlarged because of the untreated strep infection. Once he's on antibiotics a few days they'll shrink back down to normal size. His lab results were all good."

"Thank God." Amelia breathes a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to write up Dylan's discharge papers now." Scott leaves the room.

Cole hugs Amelia tight. "I think this calls for a celebration." Cole grins.

Amelia looks into Cole's eyes. She's so happy and relieved. She presses her mouth up against his locking lips with him.

Dylan teases. "Uh…there's a teen in the room. Can you two go out in the hall and do that?"

Cole winks at Dylan. "Watch and learn, son."

Amelia swats Cole on the backside. "Hey! You're talking about his mother. Don't teach him on me." She complains with a smile.

"Okay, let's go to my office then." He teases.

Amelia looks at Dylan. "You're father has always been a flirt."

"And you love me for it." Cole smirks.

Dylan rolls his eyes at his parents. He's just happy he's still in remission.

* * *

><p>Tess and Chase are snuggling in bed at the safe house. They kept their clothes on like they promised Cooper they would. Cooper knocks on the door and enters.<p>

"Are you checking up on us, dad?" Chase asks. "We have all our clothes on."

"That's not why I'm here." Cooper says with a somber voice.

Tess sits up straight in the bed. "Did something happen?"

"Chase's momma just called me. They took Jayden off his life support. He's gone."

Tess hugs Chase, sobbing. "He died for me. He died to save me."

Chase and Cooper both rub Tess's back. "It was his job." Cooper tells her. "He knew this could happen when he took the job. It's not your fault."

"I feel so bad, maybe it's because we got to know him. He was a nice guy." Tess wipes away her tears. "He wasn't that much older than us."

"The best thing you can do to honor Jayden's life is to live your own life to the fullest, help others like Jayden served others." Cooper tells Tess.

"Can you stay in this room with me and Chase tonight?" Tess asks. "I'd feel better."

"Okay." Cooper agrees. "I'll sleep in the chair over there." He grabs a blanket.

"Goodnight, dad. Goodnight Tess." Chase says.

"Goodnight, Dr. Freedman. Goodnight Chase." Tess says.

"Goodnight John Boy." Cooper chuckles.

"Who's John Boy?" Chase asks.

"Never mind." Cooper shakes his head. "I'm old, goodnight Chase, goodnight Tess."

Cooper tries to sleep.

* * *

><p>It's four am. Nicky finishes feeding Harper and puts her back in her crib. Before he lies back down on the cot in the nursery he looks out the window. He notices the basement light on in the house for sale down the street. He's never noticed the basement light on at four am, in the empty house before. He calls his father.<p>

Bruce answers the phone. "Hello."

"Pop, it's Nick."

"It's four am, Nikolas. What do you want?"

Nicky tells him. "I was just feeding the baby and noticed the basement light on in the house down the street. The one that's for sale."

"Why are you telling me this?" Bruce sits up in bed. "What's the significance?"

"That house has been empty for months, pop. The owners moved out. I doubt the real estate agent would come over at four am and turn the lights on."

"You think the guys who shot Jayden are hiding out there?" Bruce asks.

"It's a possibility." Nicky shrugs. "I don't know."

"Okay. I'll go check it out." Bruce tells him.

"Do you want me to call the cops to back you up?" Nicky asks his father.

"No. Let me check it out first. It may be nothing."

"Okay." Nicky hangs up the phone. He watches out the window and waits for his father to show up. His father drives up to the empty house. He doesn't turn the lights off on his car. Nicky watches his father get out of the car with his gun bag before he shakes Andie awake.

Andie rubs her eyes. "Do you want me to feed the baby?"

"No. I just fed her. She went back to sleep."

"Then why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?" Andie asks, annoyed. "I'm not in the mood, Jayden just died."

"That's not what I want. I called my dad because there's a basement light on in the Castro's house. They haven't lived there in months."

"That's weird." Andie rubs her eyes.

"I think those bastards that killed Jayden are hiding out there." Nicky tells Andie.

"Why?"

"It would have been easy for them to run there and hide after they shot Jayden. The house is for sale, it's empty."

Andie sits up in bed. "Do you really think so?"

"Why else would the light be on in the basement at four am?"

"Is your father checking it out?"

"He's there now." Nicky takes a deep breath. "He doesn't want me to call the cops to back him up."

"Oh." Andie worries. "Maybe you should do it anyway."

Bruce shoots open the basement entrance to the Castro's empty house. He pushes the door in. There's a man lying on the couch in the basement who jumps up when he spots Bruce. The man picks up his gun and shoots. Bruce is wearing a bullet proof vest. Bruce shoots back, shooting the guy in the chest, killing him.

"Did you hear that?" Nicky asks Andie.

"It sounded like gunshots." Andie answers.

"Shit! My father!" Nicky gets up and runs out of the house.

Andie follows him to the front door. "Please don't go, Nicky!" She cries.

Nicky runs down the street in his bare feet to the Castro's house.

Charlotte wakes up. "What's going on?"

"We think the guys that shot Jayden are hiding out in the Castro's basement. Nicky's dad is there. We heard gunshots and Nicky ran over there."

Charlotte inhales and sighs. She picks up her phone. "I'm calling the police."

Nicky notices the door broken in at the Castro's basement. Everything is quiet now. He quietly walks in. He notices the dead guy on the couch and quietly looks around for his father.

Bruce opens a closet in the basement to find the guy who attacked Tess hiding with his gun. "Please don't shot me." The guy begs Bruce.

"Get out of the fuckin' closet!" Bruce orders the guy.

The guy crawls out of the closet with his hands on his head. "Please don't shoot me."

Nicky peeks into the room.

"I'm showing you no Mercy." Bruce kicks the guy. "You showed no mercy when you raped that girl. You showed no mercy when you killed the prison guard. You showed no mercy when you killed one of my guys. Now I'm showing you no mercy"

The man is shaking now. "I'm a human being."

"You're no human!" Nicky's father shoots the man twice in the chest. The man falls to the ground, gasping. Nicky's father picks up the guys gun out of the closet with a cloth he brought along. He fires the gun twice at the wall.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Nicky asks. They hear the sirens in the distance.

"I'm getting justice for Jayden. The story is he fired at me first and I shot him in self defense."

Nicky swallows. "I didn't see anything." He tells his father before heading back home.

Andie and Charlotte are waiting at the door. "What happened? Is your dad okay?" Andie asks

Nicky's looks like he's just seen a ghost. "My pop's okay but both of those bastards are dead. My dad shot them."

"I'm sure it was self defense." Andie walks Nicky over to the couch and gets him a glass of water.

Charlotte remembers Bruce telling his FBI team to show the guys no mercy when they caught them. She's pretty sure Bruce showed these two no mercy.

The police cars speed by on their way to the Castro house.

Nicky sips his water, telling Andie and Charlotte. "Just say you called the cops because you heard gun shots. Don't tell them I went down there. Those guys are dead and I want to forget what I saw tonight."

"Okay." Andie rubs Nicky's back. She looks at her mother. "At least it's over now, momma. Tess never has to worry about them coming after her again."

"It''s never over." She says quietly to herself.


	148. Chapter 148

_**CHAPTER 148**_

* * *

><p>Bruce stands at the altar giving a speech about what a dedicated agent Jayden was. He talks about how a young life was cut short and how everyone at the memorial service should remember him as a hero. Jayden's family had flown out from Colorado to be with him before the life support was shut off. They're at the memorial service too.<p>

Andie clasp Nicky's hand in her own as they listen to Bruce speak about the young FBI agent who recently joined Bruce's team.

"My dad is never going to forgive himself." Nicky tells Andie. "He was Jayden's boss."

"It's not his fault. It's those criminals fault and it's a good thing they're both dead so Tess doesn't have to spend her life looking over her shoulder. I'm glad your dad killed those guys."

Nicky nods, closing his eyes. He can't stop thinking how the guy begged his father for mercy. He has an image of his father shooting the guy twice in his chest over and over again in his mind.

"Are you okay, Nick?" Andie squeezes his hand.

"I don't ever want Harper to experience this side of life. I just want her to be exposed to the good things in life."

"I know." Andie nods. "I want Harper to have a good life too."

Tess sits between Chase and Charlotte at the memorial service. Charlotte holds one of her hands and Chase holds onto the other. They know she feels guilty for Jayden's death since he took a bullet to protect her. Tears stream down Tess's face as she listens to Bruce talk about what a devoted agent Jayden was in the short time he knew him. Tess watches Jayden's parents try to be strong and comfort Jayden's younger sister who's crying. Tess shakes her head. "Why did any of this have to happen?"

"I don't know." Charlotte whispers. "I don't know."

Cooper whispers in Charlotte's ear. "I'm going outside to check on Harper." He rises to his feet and walks out to the lobby of the church; Susan is sitting on a bench in the lobby holding Harper.

"How's she doing?" Cooper sits beside Susan on the bench.

"She's doing wonderful." Susan looks down out at the infant. Harper gives her great-grandma a toothless grin.

Cooper can't help but smile at the sight of his biological mother holding his granddaughter.

"It's a shame about that young man. He was a real hero." Susan offers.

"I didn't realize you knew Jayden?" Cooper asks.

"I didn't really. Nicky asked me to come to look after Harper in case she cried in the church."

"That's nice of you." Cooper nods.

"I did meet the young man once. He came to Giorgio's to investigate the shooting. Andie was panicking because she lost tract of Harper for a few minutes. Jayden was the one to find her. He saved the night." Susan tells.

"Where was Harper?" Cooper asks.

"Some young lady from the band took her out to her car to make a phone call but Jayden found her. He was a nice young man. It's a real shame he died this way."

"It's a job hazard in that line of work."

"I suppose." Susan nods.

"Harper seems to like you." Cooper watches the happy baby cooing and smiling in her greatgrandma's care.

"The feeling is mutual, I adore Harper. I was so happy when I found out I had a great granddaughter."

Cooper nods. "We love her too. Charlotte and I were freaked out when we found out Andie was pregnant but now…-" Cooper looks at Harper. "I wouldn't change a thing. I couldn't imagine the past four months without our little Harper bug." Cooper plays with Harper's foot. "I wouldn't change a thing." He repeats.

"Life is funny." Susan says. "Every decision we make, every path we take can alter our lives tremendoulsy."

"Are you talking about your decision to give me and Leslie up for adoption?" Cooper asks.

"It wasn't really my decision, dear. I was sixteen and it was 1969. It was frowned upon back then to be single and pregnant and I was having twins on top of it. My parents made that decision for me. I wasn't given the choice." Susan explains.

"Really?" Cooper's surprised.

"Yes, Cooper. It was a very different world back then when I was a teenager. My parents practically had me hidden away in the house until you and Leslie were born. Then they arranged for your adoptions."

Cooper looks at the floor and clasps his hands together. "What happened to my father?"

"My parents forbid me to see him after they found out I was pregnant. He met another girl and they married. They went on to have five children of their own. I was heartbroken to say the least."

"I'm sorry." Cooper's sentiments are genuine. "It doesn't sound like you had it easy."

"I eventually met a fantastic man who I fell head over heels in love with. We married but I was never able to have any more children. I always felt like it was punishment from the universe for giving you and Leslie away."

"It wasn't." Cooper replies. "I had a great childhood with my adoptive parents."

Susan sighs. "I believe things happen for a reason. My husband and I opened a restaurant in Ohio. We were able to stay at the restaurant all day and night because we didn't have children to come home to. The restaurant became our whole life. It was very successful. We made enough money to open another and then another. Soon we had a chain of restaurants. I had a good life aside from having what I really wanted - a family."

Cooper nods.

Susan continues. "Soon after my husband died I became depressed. I didn't want to run the restaurant business without him. It was _our_ life. So, I sold the chain and led a sad lonely life until Leslie contacted me."

Cooper gives Susan a sympathetic smile.

Susan contines."My life changed drastically once I met Leslie. She introduced me to my two grandchildren, Nicky and Suzie, and now I have Harper." Susan looks down at the baby and smiles. "My life is full again."

"Thank you for letting Andie and Chase work for you at the restaurant." Cooper nods.

"They're wonderful children. You've done a fabulous job raising them."

Cooper chuckles. "My wife gets the credit for that. She keeps them in line, makes sure they're polite and mind their manners in public."

"I see a lot of you in both Andie and Chase." Susan smiles.

"You have two other grandsons you haven't met yet." Cooper tells her.

"Yes, Leslie told me you and Charlotte have four children."

Cooper calls Noah on his mobile phone. "Noah, I want you to come up to the lobby of the church and bring Drew. There's someone special you need to meet."

Susan has a rather surprised look on her face.

The church doors open and the mouners file out into the lobby. Andie and Nicky stroll over to Susan and Cooper. "How was she?" Andie reaches for Harper.

"I was just telling your father how much I adore this little angel. Great grandma Susan would love to babysit her anytime you need."

"Good to know." Nicky nods. "We need all the babysitters we can get with our schedules between school and the band and now Andie's working at Giorgio's."

Charlotte joins the group along with Tess and Chase. "Shall we all go out to lunch?" Charlotte asks. "My treat."

"One minute." Cooper tells her. "I just called Noah and Drew. They're on the way over here now."

Charlotte takes Harper from Andie. "How's nana's little girl?" Charlotte kisses Harper on the nose.

Chase shakes his head. "Momma, calling yourself nana makes you sound old. Don't do it." He chuckles.

"What do you want Harper to call me?" Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Grandma sounds even older."

"How about granny?" Cooper teases. "Good ole granny King." Cooper laughs.

Charlotte glares at Cooper. "You're going to be hobbling out of this church in a second."

Noah and Drew walk in. "Hey dad, who did you want us to meet?" Noah asks.

"Noah, Drew, " Cooper says. "This is my biological mother, Susan Morgan. Meet your grandmother."

"Hi!" Drew says with a big smile. "I'm Drew."

Susan opens her arms. "Can I have a hug, Drew?"

Drew leaps into Susan's arms.

"How about you?" Susan asks Noah.

"Uh…sure." Noah hugs Susan.

Charlotte and Cooper exchange smiles.


	149. Chapter 149

_**CHAPTER 149**_

* * *

><p><strong>One month later-<strong>

Cooper opens the front door of his house to welcome Violet and Pete in with Lila and Dylan trailing behind them. "Welcome Wilder family." Cooper greets.

"Thank you for inviting us." A frail Violet follows Cooper into the living room. "It smells delicious in here."

Cooper holds his hand up. "I take no credit for it. My son, the chef, is in the kitchen putting his finishing touches on the chicken cordon bleu with a little help from his assistant."

"Who's that?" Pete asks.

"Tess." Noah and Marley walk into the living room to greet them. "Chase learned how to make all kinds of yummy dishes from the chef at Giorgio's."

"I can't wait to try it." Violet tells him.

"You look like you could use a good meal." Cooper remarks. "It looks like you haven't eaten in months."

"That's what happens when you get shot in a lung." Violet takes a seat on the couch.

"C'mon." Noah waves on Lila and Dylan. "We're playing laser tag with Drew outside. It'll be me and Marley against you guys and Drew." Noah tells them.

"Why do we have Drew on our team?" Dylan asks.

"Because he's six and we don't want him." Noah laughs.

"Dude!" Dylan protests. "I would have brought my little sister along if I knew I was gonna get stuck with the rug rat."

"Drew's actually pretty good." Marley tells them. "He'll surprise ya."

The four teens walk out into the yard to play.

Cooper hands both Violet and Pete a drink. "So, how are you feeling today, Vi?" He asks.

"Much better." Violet takes the drink and sips it.

"So, much better," Pete adds. "That she's been cleared to return to work on Monday."

"Really?" Cooper looks surprised, she clearly doesn't look ready to him.

Charlotte walks into the room carrying Harper.

"Oh my." Violet looks at Harper. "You look like a clone of your grandma."

Cooper clears his throat. "Charlotte doesn't like to be called grandma. She prefers nan."

"Is that some form of nana?" Pete asks.

Charlotte doesn't like to be called Nana either." Cooper smirks. "Only nan."

"Well, what about you, gramps?" Violet teases Cooper. "What are they calling you?"

Cooper sips his drink and boasts. "Harper can call me whatever she wants."

"I like pappy." Pete teases." Like from Popeye the sailor."

"Oh, you're dating yourself." Cooper jokes. "If you know who Popeye is."

"Pete watches the reruns on the cartoon channel." Violet adds.

"Violet?" Pete widens his eyes. "Some things are supposed to be kept within the marriage."

They all laugh.

Andie walks in the living room with Nicky. "Sounds like you're having fun. What's going on?"

"We were talking about Popeye." Cooper tells his daughter.

"Who?" Andie asks.

"Oh my God, Cooper!" Pete jokes. "What have you taught your kids? Have you taught them no culture?"

"I know who Popeye is." Nicky boasts. "He's that sailor dude that likes to eat spinach."

"Ha!" Pete points to Nicky. "I like this boy!"

"That's how my mother got me to eat spinach when I was little." Nicky tells them. "She told me I'd grow up to be strong like Popeye."

"Why don't I know Popeye, dad?" Andie asks.

"Don't worry about it, Olive." Cooper chuckles.

"Who's Olive" Andie looks confused. "I don't get you old people and what you find funny, sometimes."

"You will one day, Sweet Pea." Charlotte tells her. "Don't rush it."

"Wait a minute." Nicky thinks. "Didn't Olive Oyl have a baby and call him Sweet Pea?"

"As a matter of fact she did." Pete laughs.

"He was Popeye's son, not Olive's, someone left him on Popeye's doorstep." Cooper enlightens them.

"I guess you like Popeye too?" Nicky asks Charlotte.

"Watched it all the time as a kid." Charlotte confirms.

"I have no clue what any of you are talking about." Andie rolls her eyes.

"You better teach your grandaughter some culture." Pete teases Cooper.

"Aye, Aye." Cooper salutes. "I'm going to watch some Popeye cartoons with her tomorrow."

Tess calls them into the dining room. "Dinner's ready!"

The group walks into the dining room and take a seat at the table. The kids run in a few minutes later.

"Did y'all wash your hands?" Charlotte asks.

"Yes, momma." Noah answers.

"Wow!" Violet looks around the table, telling Chase. "It must have taken you all day to cook for this many people."

"I'm used to cooking for more people than this at the restaurant." Chase shrugs.

"So, you like your job at the restaurant?" Pete asks.

"I do." Chase nods.

"Maybe you'll have a chef in the family." Violet nods.

"Nope." Cooper shakes his head. "Chase is going to be a doctor."

"Or a veterinarian. I haven't decided yet." Chase digs into his chicken.

"This is really good." Marley comments.

"Yes." Charlotte says. "It's nice to all be together too."

"How are Danielle and Lucas doing?" Andie asks Violet.

Violet answers. "They're well. They're trying to find a date for the wedding."

Pete shakes his head. "I don't understand the rush."

"How about you, Andie?" Violet asks. "Have you and Nicky set a date yet?"

"Yep." Nicky responds. "We're getting married the Forth of July weekend after Andie graduates from college."

"That's not for another three years." Pete points out.

"Good." Cooper chimes in.

"Are you going to have a big wedding?" Lila asks. "I love big weddings."

Nicky laughs. "If we let my father have anything to do with it, it will be huge. He wants to invite all his relatives from Greece."

Marley asks "Like in that movie?"

"Cool!" Noah grins. "Can we throw plates at each other?"

"I'm going to throw the first plate at you." Chase smirks at Noah.

"I'll get you first when you're not looking." Noah teases.

"I want to throw plates at a wedding!" Drew exclaims. "That sounds like fun."

"You'll be almost ten by then, Drew." Charlotte thinks.

"So, if Chase and Noah still like to throw plates then a ten year old should love it." Drew tells his momma.

"Everyone loves to throw plates." Cooper sips on his mixed drink.

Nicky swallows his chicken before informing them. "If you do that my family will think you are all crazy."

"Yeah." Andie nods. "They don't throw plates anymore. That's an old tradition."

"They only do it in the movies here." Nicky smirks. "If you start throwing plates at the wedding my father's family will think I married into the looney bin."

"You are marrying into a looney bin." Noah jokes.

Violet nods. "You have a nice family, Coop. "I can't wait until the wedding."

Pete adds. "You did good, Coop." Pete looks over at Charlotte. "You too, Charlotte."

"I'm glad someone realizes I had something to do with it." Charlotte jokes.

"You guys didn't do so bad yourselves." Cooper tells Pete and Violet.

Marley asks. "Who do you think will get married first; Andie and Nicky or Danielle and Lucas?"

Noah calls out. "Neither! I think it'll be me and you Marz Barz!"

"Or me and Dylan!" Lila calls out.

"Here we go again." Cooper rolls his eyes. "Round two."

"You guys are too young to be thinking about marraige." Chase scoffs at the younger teens. "You haven't even lived yet."

"Like you have?" Noah teases.

"I've lived more than you." Chase answers.

"Why because you have sex? You're telling us we haven't lived if we haven't had sex yet." Noah scoffs.

"Don't tell them that, Chase." Tess joins in the conversation. " Lila and Marley will end up pregnant like Andie did."

"Hey!" Andie protests. "I thought everyone loved Harper?"

"We do." Charlotte responds. "We just don't want a half dozen Harpers running around the house when you kids are still in school."

"Enjoy your youth." Pete tells them. "It goes by fast. Look at me I'm an old man."

"Oh, stop it, Pete." Violet nudges his arm. "You're not that old. Look at Sheldon, he's in his sixties and he's raising a six year old."

Pete nods his head. "I wouldn't want to do that."

"Why are you and Dylan so quiet tonight?" Violet asks Lila.

"I'm just happy to be here with everyone and to have you around, mom." Lila eats her chicken.

"And I'm happy that my Hodgkin's didn't come back." Dylan tells them.

Everyone stays silent for a few moments until Cooper picks up his glass. "Let's have a toast to good times and good friends."

"And good health." Violet adds. They all take turns clinking glasses with each other.

Charlotte raises her glass. "Let's agree to do this more often."

"As long as Chase does the cooking, I'm in." Cooper sips his drink.

"This is an awesome dinner, Chase." Dylan tells him. "You should think about being a chef."

"Yeah," Noah agrees. "Maybe you could open your own restaurant chain one day like grandma Susan."

"This was a lovely dinner." Charlotte tells her older son. She looks around the table at her children, her husband and their friends all eating and talking together. "This is the good life." She smiles and thinks to herself before finishing her meal.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN-** The next chapter will be the epilogue! =)_


	150. Chapter 150

_**CHAPTER 150- THE EPILOGUE**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>FOUR YEARS LATER: FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND:<strong>_

Harper bops around the dance floor to the music in her blue baby doll style flower girl dress. She watches her dress spin as she twirls around. The adults stand around the dance floor watching her.

Charlotte nudges Cooper with her elbow. "you do know that kid's full of piss and vineger like Drew was at that age."

"She looks so much like Drew at that age too." Violet reminds her. "They're both mini-you's"

Cooper teases. "So, don't blame me for their...-" Cooper tries to be polite, "_highly__ active_ behavior. They get that from you."

"It is true, Charlotte." Violet informs. "You've always worked two jobs even when you were raising your family. You need to stay busy. I agree with Cooper they get it from you."

"If I thought this was going to be a Charlotte roast, I would have stayed home." Charlotte strolls to the bar to order a drink.

Broken Spell's playing tonight but Nicky's not performing this time. He's the groom tonight. He dances with his red-headed bride sharing the dance floor with Harper. Nicky looks handsome in his black tux. His dark hair is cut neat in the back while the front wisps down on the right side. It's his trademark look. His olive skin is even more tan than usual in preparation for this day. His new wife is wearing her hair in a sedu hairstyle with wisps of red hair flattering the delicate features of her face. White decorative hair jewelry adornishes her head. She dances with her new husband in a white, strapless, slim line wedding dress made of satin chiffon. Beads adorn the slim waistline of her dress.

Cooper joins Charlotte at the bar. "Isn't she the most beautiful bride you ever saw?" He asks.

"She is." Charlotte looks over at Andie and Nicky dancing.

"And I'm not just saying that because I'm her father."

"And _I'm_ not sayin' it because I'm her momma. She's a stunning bride."

Cooper gazes at his twenty two year old daughter. "The most stunning bride I ever saw." Cooper thinks a minute. "I mean besides you of course."

"It's okay, Coop. You can say she's a more beautiful bride that I was. She's my daughter I'm not gonna bop you over the head for it."

"It's not that she's more beautiful. You're both beautiful, it's just that she's thirteen years younger than you were when we got married."

"Okay, now I'm gonna bop you on the head."

"I'd like it better if you danced with me instead." Cooper pulls Charlotte out to the dance floor where they share a slow dance.

After the song's over Cooper takes Charlotte by the arm to join their friends at the table. "One down, three to go." Sam teases Cooper.

"That's alright." Cooper says. "I want them to all finish school before they get married."

"Well, Andie wasted no time." Violet comments. "She just graduated from UCLA in May and got married the first weekend in July."

Charlotte replies before sipping her martini. "Andie and Nicky have been engaged since Harper was three months old, now she's four years old, they did their time."

Harper runs over to them. The little blonde's hair bounces as she runs.

"What can we do for you, peanut?" Cooper asks his granddaughter.

"Can you dance with me grandpa? Poppa is dancing with momma."

"Where's Drew?" Cooper just sat down with his drink and isn't thrilled about getting up again. "Can't you ask Drew to dance with you?"

"He's dancing with Sarah, see." Harper points to the dance floor.

"Okay. C'mon, you little peanut, but no stepping on my toes. I'm warning you." Cooper teases. Charlotte watches Cooper and her granddaughter on the dance floor. Harper not only dances on his toes. She places her white shoes over Cooper's black shoves and shuffles around the dance floor, grinning from ear to ear.

"Your father is having a good time." Tess tells Chase as she drags him back onto the dance floor.

"Yeah. I guess that means we have to get married next to keep that smile on his face."

"We will." Tess gives him a quick soft peck on the lips. "I have it all planned out. We'll get engaged after medical school and get married after we finish our residencies."

"Ughhhhh." Chase whines. "I don't wanna wait that long. Do you know how many years that's going to take?"

"The best things are worth waiting for." Tess smiles.

Lucas and Danielle sit down next to Addison with their mixed drinks. "What are you drinking?" Addison asks Danielle.

"Captain Morgan and coke. Why?"

"I was hoping you were pregnant." Addison sighs.

"Mom, would you stop! Lucas and I want to finish medical school before we start having kids."

"Is it too much to ask for a grandchild before I die?"

"You're not gonna die, mom. You're in perfect health and I promise Lucas and I will start trying after medical school."

Violet teases. "We're going to have to work out a schedule or else Addison will be monopolizing my grandchild."

"You know it." Addison sips her martini.

"That's right." Amelia thinks out loud. "If Danielle and Lucas have a child you two will both be its' grandmothers. How cool is that?"

Sheldon chimes in. "And if Sarah and Drew marry you and Charlotte will be the grandmothers."

"That's ridiculous." Cooper screws up his nose.

"Why?" Violet asks

"Sarah and Drew are ten. How can you even think they'd get married?" Cooper scoffs. "Who knows if they'll even be friends in ten more years?"

"What's wrong with Sarah?" Sheldon challenges Cooper. "Don't you think she's good enough for your Drew because I'll have you know that Drew is not good enough for Sarah. They'll end up having crazy hyperactive kids if she married Drew."

"Sorry." Amelia looks at them all. "Sheldon, let's dance." She pulls him out to the dance floor.

"What's his problem?" Cooper chews on a toothpick.

"You know him. He's always been overprotective of Sarah" Violet goes on. "And how dare you suggest that you don't want Drew to marry her." Violet teases.

"It's not that I don't want Drew to marry her but they're ten, Vi, let's not arrange their wedding just yet." Cooper complains. "There's a whole big world out there for them."

"Next thing you know Sheldon will be expecting you to bring him a goat for a dowry." Sam laughs.

Drew and Sarah run over to them. "Grandma Susan said we can break some plates. C'mon."

"Are you kiddin'?" Charlotte groans. "That sounds expensive."

"They're not the same plates we eat off of, momma. Grandma Susan bought a bunch of cheap plates to smash at the wedding."

The band calls Andie and Nicky back out to the dance floor for a special dance. The couple has no idea what's going on. Once they start to dance some of Nicky's relatives pin money on Andie's wedding dress for luck. Drew is the first one to smash a plate yelling "OPA!" Sarah grabs one to smash and soon a line forms to smash plates while they yell "OPA!"

"Do they really do this in Greece?" Cooper asks Nicky's father.

"No." He shakes his head. "Maybe years ago but not anymore. My family must think you're all nuts for throwing those plates around."

Cooper laughs "Why did they do it in the past?"

"It symbolizes smashing away your old life with the broken plates and starting a new life together."

"Why did that stop the tradition?"

"Too expensive and too messy." Bruce chuckles. "Someone has to clean this all up."

After the plate smashing dance, Andie and Nicky get ready to leave for their honeymoon. "Should we announce our news before we leave?" Nicky asks Andie.

"No, we'll tell them a few weeks after the we get back. Let them think it happened on our honeymoon this time."

Andie and Nicky say goodbye to their guests and give Harper an extra special hug. "You be a good girl for Nan and Grandpa, okay, Harper Bopper." Andie kisses her daughter. "Momma and poppa have a big surprise for you when they return."

"What is it?" Harper grins from ear to ear.

"I can't tell you or it wouldn't' be a surprise but it's one of the best gifts momma and poppa could ever give to you."

"Yay!" Harper jumps up and down. "I can't wait to see it."

Nicky whispers in Andie's ear. "Are you sure that was a good idea to tell her that? She's not going to be able to see or touch her surprise for another seven months."

"We'll bring her back a Hawaiian doll and dress too. She'll be fine." Andie reassures Nicky before hugging her momma and dad goodbye.

Charlotte and Cooper watch them leave with tears in their eyes. "Our little girl is a married woman." Charlotte tells him.

"I know." Cooper picks Harper up to wave as Andie and Nicky drive away.

* * *

><p><em><strong>THE END! <strong>_

_**I am doing a sequel to this story-stay tuned.**_


End file.
